Stolen Time
by AleutianStorm
Summary: The Time Bandit gets a new producer and Johnathan Hillstrand gets the biggest surprise of his life. A Deadliest Catch fanfic.
1. Chapter 1: Last Minute Details

Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone (other than a copy of the Time Bandit book, an overactive imagination, and a massive crush on Johnathan Hillstrand).

CHAPTER ONE: Last Minute Details

"Can I have everyone's attention for just a couple of minutes?" Jeff Conroy boomed over the din of chatting crab boat captains. The room quieted down considerably as Sig Hansen, Keith Coburn, Phil Harris and the Hillstrand brothers stopped their usual bragging and story-telling and turned their attention on the executive producer. "Thanks," he grinned. "I just have a couple of last minute details to go over and then I'll shut up and you can get on with your night. First, as you all know by now, we've got crews working around the clock rigging the boats with cameras and about a million miles of cables. Hopefully that will be finished by noon tomorrow and you'll be able to make your final preparations without us in your way. Second, all of last season's cameramen and producers have returned with one exception. Tom Miller was unable to return to the team due to some family obligations. What that means is that the Time Bandit is getting a new producer on board this season." He turned to address Johnathan and Andy Hillstrand directly. "JD is at the Time Bandit now, assisting with camera rigging and getting familiar with your boat. There will be plenty of time for introductions later. Moving on, I will have all of the camera operators and producers in the lobby of this hotel tomorrow morning at 9:00am sharp. You can pick up your team members at that time, take them to your boats, and await the arrival of the Coast Guard for survival suit drills, etc. After that, you should be set to leave port the minute the season opens. Alright, that's it guys. Have a great season!"

As the captains filed out of the conference room, Andy and Johnathan were already in deep in discussion of how to haze the greenhorn producer.

"Do you think he'll be a crybaby like that guy a few seasons ago?" Johnathan asked.

"Who knows," Andy replied. "Maybe he'll fit in like Tom did. I guess we'll find out tomorrow morning, because there's absolutely no way I'm going back to the boat with all those techie-types crawling all over it. They just irritate me and I end up tripping over cables until they're done. Let's head to The Elbow Room and have a few with the other captains. I'm sure there's a bet we need to get in on!"

"You're on, brother," Johnathan laughed as the two bumped fists and headed for their favorite Dutch Harbor watering hole.


	2. Chapter 2: No Crybabies

Disclaimer: Again, they're not mine, but I really wish they were!

(This chapter needed a little editing…a few grammar errors I didn't catch on the first pass! Also, love and reviews make the world go 'round.)

CHAPTER TWO: No Crybabies!

The next morning, Andy and Johnathan arrived at the Grand Aleutian Hotel at 9:00am, as instructed. As the glass doors slid open to admit them to the lobby, Johnathan noticed that their longtime cameraman, Steve, was having an animated conversation with Jeff Conroy and some woman. They hung back for a minute before approaching the trio.

"Mornin', Jeff. Mornin', Steve," Johnathan greeted the men as Andy went in search of a cup of coffee. "Toss us our producer so we can get moving. We wanna be outta here the second the season opens. Don't tell me he's not ready."

The woman, whom he hadn't even bothered acknowledging turned toward him with a slight smirk playing at the corner of her mouth. "Good Morning, Captain Hillstrand. I'm your new producer, and I'm ready to go whenever you are."

Johnathan laughed out loud. "Ha ha, sweetheart. Very funny. Now seriously, where's this JD guy? It's time to go."

Jeff Conroy stepped forward. "Johnathan, meet your new producer, Juliette Dean. Juliette's a friend of Steve's from film school and she comes very highly recommended to our dysfunctional little family."

"Okay, Jeff, seriously. Where's our real producer? Your little joke isn't funny," Johnathan grumbled.

"I'm serious, Johnathan. Juliette Dean, a.k.a. JD, is your new producer. I hope that's not going to be a problem," Jeff said coolly.

"No fucking way are you putting a woman on my boat!" Johnathan boomed.

The entire lobby fell silent as everyone stared at the little group. Andy, having heard his brother yelling from the coffee shop, rushed over to join them.

"What's going on here?" Andy asked calmly.

Johnathan snarled, "Apparently Jeff thinks he's putting a female producer on our boat this season. There is no way in hell I'm letting some pain-in-the-ass woman onboard. Women have no business on the Time Bandit."

"Johnathan, you're making a spectacle of yourself," Jeff said in a steely tone. "You can either accept the fact that Juliette's going to be on your boat this season, or we'll find another boat to film."

Johnathan continued to sputter for a few moments before Andy looked at the executive producer and said, "Fine, but she gets no special treatment. We'll all be treating her just like any other production person on our boat."

"Andy, have you fucking lost it?" Johnathan snapped. "I don't want her out there. She'll be a whiny mess and she'll probably get hurt if we let her anywhere near the deck. You know the deal, no crybabies."

Up until that moment, Juliette had been completely silent. Her cheeks had flamed at being referred to as 'a pain-in-the-ass woman' and a 'whiny mess'. However, upon hearing Johnathan Hillstrand refer to her as a crybaby, she stepped directly in front of him, hands behind her back, intentionally invading his personal space. "Captain Hillstrand, I understand that you're not thrilled about me being on your boat, however I think you need to give me a chance before you judge me. I may be many things, but a "crybaby" isn't one of them."

Johnathan stared down at her; the tension between them was almost palpable. She stood almost a foot shorter than his 6 feet 2 inches and she couldn't weigh more than a hundred and fifteen pounds. He noted that her eyes were bright green against an ivory complexion and framed by pieces of wavy coal black hair that had escaped from under her baseball hat.

Andy broke the absolute silence with a loud laugh, "Well, she's already told you off, brother. It should be an interesting season." Turning to Juliette, he said, "Honey, I hope you know what you're getting into," as grabbed his brother by the arm and half dragged him out to the truck.

As Juliette and Steve grabbed their gear and made to follow the Time Bandit captains, Juliette was seething at Johnathan Hillstrand's display of temper and swore to herself that no matter how insane things got at sea, she was going to prove to him just how wrong he was about her.


	3. Chapter 3: I Don't Think She's As Bad

Disclaimer: Tragically, not mine.

A/N: Thanks to NorthwesternSig for reviewing the first two chapters of this story. I really appreciate any and all reviews…it gives me motivation to keep working on this story.

CHAPTER THREE: I Don't Think She's As Bad As You Think She Is

The ride from the Grand Aleutian to the docks had been completely silent. From time-to-time Juliette could feel Johnathan glaring at her in the rearview mirror. Jeff and Steve had both warned her that the Time Bandit guys would probably be less than thrilled to have her aboard for King Crab season, but no one had expected Johnathan to explode like he had. She was knew that life on a crab boat was going to be hard, but she suspected that if Johnathan Hillstrand had his way, her life was about to become a living hell.

The moment the truck came to a stop, Johnathan jumped out and slammed the door with far more force than necessary right in her face. Juliette sighed and thought 'So it begins.' Grabbing her bag, she followed Andy and Johnathan toward the Time Bandit. Steve caught up to her and muttered, "Are you sure you can handle this?"

"Well, there's no way in hell I'm backing down now," she muttered back.

Once aboard the Time Bandit, Juliette faced even more hostility from Russ, Eddie and Scott. None of them were pleased that there was going to be a woman on their boat. At least Mike Fourtner had been kind enough to offer her a place to stash her gear in the small stateroom he shared with Eddie. Like every other boat in the fleet, the Time Bandit had been built to house its own crew and no one else. The Deadliest Catch film crew was expected to crash on floors and in the galley seating whenever they had a moment.

"Thanks, Mike," she smiled as she stuffed her duffle bag into the corner he had indicated.

"No problem," he grinned back. "I let Tom stash his stuff here last season and no one messed with it, so hopefully it'll be the same for you. We should probably get up on deck; I think the Coast Guard's going to be here soon for survival suit drills. I hope you're ready; the plunge into the water really sucks."

"I guess we should get going then," she grimaced and headed for the deck.

The entire Time Bandit crew and Steve were waiting on the deck when she followed Mike out the door.

"Took you long enough Fourtner," Johnathan snapped. "What's the matter, did _she_ fall down the stairs or just get lost on the way up them?"

"Jeez, John, I was just showing her where she could keep her bag. Relax already." Mike answered cheerfully.

"Whatever, I'm guessing she'll just be getting that bag right back outta there after she fails the survival suit drill and I can get her off my boat." Johnathan growled.

"Here come the Coasties!" Russell chimed in.

The Coast Guard inspectors, Tim Rutherford and Jim Mitchell, boarded the Time Bandit and proceeded through all their inspection procedures. After about an hour, it was survival suit drill time. Each crew member had 60 perform the drill. "Let the new girl go first." Johnathan snickered. "It should provide good entertainment for the rest of us."

Juliette's heart was pounding, but she knew she was ready. The moment the Coast Guard inspector said 'Go', she unrolled the neoprene suit, dropped to the deck and forced her legs into it. Then, she stood up, jammed her arms into the suit's sleeves, dragged the hood up over her head, zipped it and pulled the flap over her mouth. She climbed on to the rail and jumped into the icy water below. After Russ and Mike fished her out of the water, she stood on deck, shivering and dripping water watching the captains and remaining crew members perform the same drill.

Once everyone had completed the drill, the Coast Guard assembled everyone in the galley to give the results. "Alright," Officer Mitchell grinned, "the results are as follows: Captain John: 58 seconds, Russ: 56 seconds, Steve: 55 seconds, Eddie: 55 seconds, Captain Andy: 54 seconds, Mike: 53 seconds, Scott: 52 seconds, and Juliette: 47 seconds."

All the guys looked a little taken aback at her time. "Whoa, that's insanely fast," Scott muttered.

"What? That's impossible," Johnathan snapped. "What'd she do, bribe you guys ahead of time to make her look good or something?"

"Nah, she filmed us a couple of seasons ago. Our standard is 50 seconds and in order to fly with us, she had to meet that standard," Officer Rutherford grinned at Juliette. "Nice to see ya back up here Jules."

Johnathan Hillstrand looked like a fish out of water gasping for air as Juliette turned away from the group. "You know, Captain Hillstrand, it's a lot harder to jump from a helicopter than it is from the rail," she tossed over her shoulder as she headed for Mike's room to change into dry clothes.

As soon as everyone was in dry clothes, the Time Bandit set sail for the fishing grounds having been cleared to leave before all the other boats. Juliette and Steve shouldered their cameras and began filming all the preparations on deck. After a while, Steve worked his way over to where Juliette was filming Eddie preparing bait bags and said, "Why don't you go up to the wheelhouse and get the Captain's perspective on the new season."

"Oh, yeah," she rolled her eyes "I'm sure I'm about the last person Johnathan Hillstrand wants in his wheelhouse right now."

"Yeah, well he'd better get over it and fast," Steve smiled. "Usually the producer is the one filming the captain and asking about a million questions. You're not afraid are you?"

"Oh, hell no!" Juliette grinned. "I think I'm going to enjoy pissing him off for a while after all the crap he's already said about me. This is going to be a challenge, but you know me, I don't back down."

As Juliette climbed the stairs to the wheelhouse, her heart was pounding. She knew that Johnathan Hillstrand pretty much hated her guts and as much as she wanted to get back at him for all the nasty things he'd said, she didn't want to cause any more problems. Reaching the top of the stairs, she knocked softly on the door before letting herself in.

"What the hell are you doing up here?" Johnathan snarled while keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the ocean in front of him.

"My job," she snapped back. "Now, if it wouldn't pain you too much, why don't you tell me where we're headed, why there, and what your thoughts are on the upcoming season."

That night at dinner, all the guys were chatting away with Juliette and she was cracking jokes, laughing, and regaling them with stories from her time filming with the Coast Guard in Kodiak. Johnathan was in the wheelhouse, studiously ignoring everyone, especially Juliette. He felt a little betrayed, having hoped that the guys would help him out in making her miserable enough to leave after a single trip.

Andy noticed that Johnathan hadn't wandered downstairs for dinner, nor had he called for anyone to bring him a plate. He filled a plate for his brother and headed for the wheelhouse.

"What's your problem," he asked, sliding the plate onto the console near Johnathan's elbow.

"Her. She's my problem," Johnathan snapped.

"Why? She passed Coast Guard inspection with flying colors. She was out on the deck earlier and she didn't even look unsteady on her feet. Hell, she hasn't even gotten seasick, which is more than I can say for you, me or any of the rest of the guys. I really think you're overreacting. Yeah, she's a woman, but she seems to be hanging with the boys just fine. I really don't think she's as bad as you think she is."

"I don't think it's a good idea to have a woman on the boat," Johnathan answered. "She's smaller than any of the guys and the first big wave could throw her overboard and if you haven't noticed, she's not ugly. I don't want the guys staring at her instead of paying attention to what they're doing."

"Ah," Andy smiled. "So you have noticed that she's kinda cute."

"Of course I have," Johnathan smirked. "I'm pissed off, not dead. I think she's kinda young though. How old do you think she is?"

"From everything she said at dinner, I'd guess about twenty-nine or thirty, same as Steve. They went to film school together and when Tom said he couldn't come back this season, Steve got Jeff to convince her to come back to Alaska. You can ask her all this yourself, though since she'll be in the wheelhouse most of the time," Andy smiled at his brother.


	4. Chapter 4: Starting Over

Disclaimer: Not mine (but Johnathan's at the top of my Christmas list).

CHAPTER 4: Starting Over

After four days at sea, everyone aboard the Time Bandit was exhausted. Under Johnathan's orders the crew had dropped all one hundred thirty seven pots, hauled them, re-baited them and set them back in the course of seventy two hours and Juliette and Steve had filmed all of it. The crew and the production team were running on less than four hours of sleep per day. Everyone was short-tempered and Johnathan and Juliette were constantly at each other's throats. After being awake for forty eight hours Johnathan had decided to give Juliette a Bering Sea baptism involving a large amount of flour being dumped on her head as she filmed on the deck. Juliette retaliated by stuffing his pillow with bait. The constant prank/payback cycle had lead to the two of them constantly arguing anytime she was filming in the wheelhouse. As a result, Juliette had taken to filming the action on the deck while Steve remained in the wheelhouse with her nemesis.

After another freezing cold day on the deck, Juliette had opted to skip dinner with the crew in favor of a nap and a long, hot shower. Later that night she awoke to a silent boat. The entire crew as sound asleep as the Time Bandit steamed toward the processor for an offload. Juliette stopped in the galley and made a fresh pot of coffee and then quietly made her way up to the wheelhouse with an extra cup for Andy, who she assumed would be at the wheel. She nearly spilled the hot liquid on herself when she stepped into the wheelhouse and found Johnathan seated in the captain's chair.

"Oh!" she gasped. "I'm sorry. I didn't think you'd be up here. I'll leave."

"You can stay." came Johnathan's reply as she turned to leave. "I could use a cup of coffee and some company. Andy's got the flu and I've been awake for way too long."

Juliette, though surprised by the usually surly captain's words, silently set the cup in front of him and retreated back to the doorway with her own cup.

"You can have a seat over there, if you want." he said politely. "I promise not to throw my coffee at you or anything."

Juliette smiled slightly in spite of herself and moved toward the co-captain's chair. "Thanks."

"Yeah, sure. It looks like a hell of a storm is brewing out there and if it hits us you'd be tossed around like a rag doll if you weren't sitting down."

They sat in silence for a while watching the rolling ocean around them. Johnathan finally broke the silence. "Can I ask you a personal question?"

Juliette hesitated for a moment before warily agreeing. "What do you want to know?"

"Why are you here? What I mean is that the Bering Sea is a cold, nasty, unforgiving place. A crab boat on the Bering Sea is even worse – especially for a woman.'

Juliette drew in a deep breath before she answered. "I wanted to come out here."

"Are you crazy?!?!?" Johnathan exclaimed.

"No, hear me out before you decide that I'm insane." she laughed. "I'm here because after a season of shooting with the Coast Guard I realized that all the real action and the real story is out here on the crab boats. The Coast Guard is only activated if there's a tragedy. Out here, it's about living on the edge, about cheating death, in a way, it's about winning. That's why I'm here: to tell the real story, not the sob story. Now it's my turn to ask you a personal question."

"Off the record?" he asked. "You're not about to shove a camera in my face, are you?"

"No," she laughed. "My camera is safely stowed below deck. We're totally off the record here."

Her soft laugh made him shudder slightly. He really liked the sound of her laugh and vowed to himself that he'd make her laugh again. "Okay, so shoot." he said.

Again, Juliette took a deep breath and paused before she asked, "What did I ever do to make you hate me so much.'

It was Johnathan's turn to be surprised. He knew he'd been awful to her since the beginning of the season, but he really hadn't expected her to call him on it. It was time to do the right thing and apologize. "I don't hate you," he said gruffly. "I know I've been terrible to you and you didn't deserve it. I really owe you an apology. I didn't want you on the boat because I figured you would be a whiny pain in the ass that would be constantly seasick, complaining that we're all a bunch of pigs and that you'd be a liability on deck. I was so wrong about you and I'm truly sorry."

Juliette's mind was spinning. Johnathan Hillstrand had actually apologized to her, and she was pretty sure that he actually meant it. She stood up and walked over to the captain's chair and stuck out her hand. "So what do you say that we start over? Hi, I'm Juliette."

Johnathan looked up at the woman with the wavy coal black hair and sparkling green eyes who was smiling at him as he took her hand in his and returned her smile. "Hi, Juliette. I'm John."


	5. Chapter 5: I Won't Bite I Promise

Disclaimer: In case anyone hasn't figured it out already, they're not mine.

CHAPTER 5: I Won't Bite. I Promise.

As the night wore on, the storm outside worsened, sending forty and fifty foot waves crashing over the bow of the Time Bandit. Juliette was amazed that Johnathan could continue to steer the boat full-throttle into each wave and still hold a conversation with her. They talked for hours. At his insistence, Juliette described her tenuous relationship with her family back in Chicago, her experiences in film school at NYU and some of the crazy places she'd been as a result of her career. In return, Johnathan told her about his kids, his grandchildren and his childhood in Alaska.

Around 3:00am as a massive wave washed over the bow, he worked up the courage to ask her the question that had been plaguing him all night. "So, Juliette, what does your boyfriend think of you being on a crab boat with a bunch of guys?"

She laughed, "I don't have a boyfriend."

Johnathan felt relief wash over him as he throttled the Time bandit into the next wave. "Really, why not?" he asked.

When Juliette answered him, her voice was thick with emotion. "There was someone a few years ago, but it didn't work out."

"I'm sorry," he murmured. "I didn't mean to pry."

"It's okay." she said softly. "It just doesn't come up very often and the memory is still a little painful."

After a few minutes of silence, Johnathan glanced at her between waves and saw that she was lost in thought. "What are you thinking about?"

The sound of his voice brought her out of her reverie. She whispered, "I was thinking that had things worked out differently, that today would have been my fifth wedding anniversary." She wiped away a single tear that had trickled down her face.

Johnathan sat in shocked silence for a moment before gently saying, "May I ask what happened or is that something you'd rather not talk about?"

Juliette drew a shaky breath before answering him. "Simon was a journalist. He was embedded with a Marine unit in Iraq. He was killed by an IED three months before we were supposed to be married."

He let out a low whistle, "Wow. That's pretty terrible. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she said smiled at him through her tears. "I'd almost forgotten until I saw the calendar in the galley."

"So you've been alone since then?"

"I've dated a few people here and there," she rolled her eyes. "Nothing serious. What about you? I know from your book that you've never been married. Why not?"

Johnathan chuckled softly to himself. "I knew that damn book would get me in trouble eventually. To be honest, I've never been married because I've never even come close to finding the right woman. Every girlfriend I've ever had freaks out because of what I do and then they try to get me to quit fishing. It just doesn't work out when someone tries to make you change; to give up what you love."

"That seems reasonable to me," she grinned. "That's part of why none of my post-Simon relationships have worked out. They've all thought I should give up doing what I love and do something safe. To hell with that. If I've gotta go, I'd rather go doing something I love."

"Exactly." Johnathan smiled at her.

Juliette was stunned at the conversation they'd just had. She hadn't expected him to be so open with her. She certainly hadn't expected to spill her guts about Simon to him, but she was relieved to find that she felt a certain freedom in having him know what had haunted her for over five years.

By that time the horrendous storm had passed and full moon shone over the blackness of the vast Bering Sea.

"Do you see that?" Johnathan said, gesturing out the front window.

"See what?" she said, peering into the darkness.

"Come here," he said softly. Then, seeing Juliette hesitate, he added, "I won't bite. I promise."

His comment was rewarded with a nervous laugh as she moved to stand beside the captain's chair.

"Now do you see?" he asked again.

Juliette looked again as he pointed out the window and finally saw what he was talking about. A small group of whales were playing in the silver stream of moonlight in front of the Time Bandit.

"Oh, wow!" Juliette exhaled softly; taking in the enormous, graceful creatures. "They're incredible."

As she stared out the window at the pod of whales, Johnathan gently pulled her onto his lap and wound his heavily tattooed arms around her waist. Without thinking, she leaned back against his chest and her hands came up to rest gently on his.

After a few minutes had passed, Juliette realized that she was sitting on Johnathan's lap and wrapped quite comfortably in his arms. A small shiver ran up her spine.

"Are you okay?" he murmured, his breath warm against the side of her neck.

"Never been better," she sighed, turning slightly so she could look at him.

Green eyes met brown and one of Johnathan's hands moved to the side of her face. He was just about to pull her to him, when the door of the stateroom he shared with Andy opened abruptly. Johnathan and Juliette jumped apart.

Juliette was blushing furiously as she said, "Goodnight, John." and rushed down the wheelhouse stairs past a very confused looking Andy Hillstrand.

A/N: See that cute little button at the bottom of your screen? Click on it and leave me a review! If you do, I'll hurry up and get the next chapter posted.


	6. Chapter 6: Damn It, Andy!

Disclaimer: I'm tired of writing disclaimers. They only serve to remind me that Johnathan and the Time Bandit boys don't belong to me. *pouts*

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CHAPTER 6: Damn It, Andy!

Andy Hillstrand entered the wheelhouse and stared at his brother.

"Damn it, Andy! What are you staring at?" Johnathan snapped.

A huge grin spread across Andy's face. "Man, did I interrupt something other than an argument between you two?"

"Yeah, maybe." Johnathan smirked. "I really don't know what the hell that was, but it was something."

'What do you mean you don't know what that was?" Andy asked seriously. 'What the hell just went on in this wheelhouse?"

Johnathan quickly related an abridged version of the night's events to his brother who immediately cracked up laughing. "I'll tell you what I think that was." Andy sputtered, trying to stop laughing. "That was you finally realizing that not only is that woman 'not ugly', it was you realizing that you like her and her realizing that she might actually like your sorry ass."

"I don't know if that's what that was," Johnathan said in a serious tone. "I may be interested in her, but there's no way in hell that she's interested in me. She's young, and smart and beautiful. She's way outta my league."

Johnathan's monologue just made Andy laugh even harder. "I saw the way that girl was blushing when she ran outta here. I also caught her looking daggers at me for interrupting you guys. I think she's into you."

"I guess only time will tell." Johnathan managed to smile at his younger brother.

"The good news for you, brother, is that you two are stuck on the Time Bandit together. You have all the stolen time in the world to figure it out." Andy grinned.

As Johnathan and Andy were talking in the wheelhouse, Juliette was down in the engine room trying to find a place to be alone for a few minutes and process what had almost happened between her and the Time Bandit's captain.

A few minutes later, Steve came down the stairs in search of the friend who had been like family to him since their NYU days. "What's up, JD?" he asked, concern written all over his face.

"Nothing." she said dully.

"Yeah, right." Steve snorted. "I saw you come flying out of that wheelhouse. What's the matter, did you and Johnathan get into it again?"

"No, nothing like that." she muttered, blushing again.

Steve contemplated his friend for a few moments before the realization hit him. "Holy shit! You and Johnathan…"

"Steve, it's not what you think." she said quickly. "John apologized to me. We talked. Andy came into the wheelhouse before anything happened. That's it."

The cameraman grinned at her. "Are you okay with that being it?" he questioned.

Juliette ran a hand through her hair and sighed, "I don't know. The whole thing has me totally confused. I mean, we've done nothing but fight like cats and dogs since the season began and last night just seemed so different. We actually had a conversation like two rational, sensible human beings. It just sort of seemed like something changed between us; like something clicked. It's pointless to try to figure it out because it'll probably never happen again."

"And why, exactly, will it probably never happen again? Steve asked her.

"Oh come on," she laughed bitterly. "This is me we're talking about. Remember, the girl who freaks out any time anyone gets too close because I still feel like I'm cheating on Simon! I'm not about to pursue anything that I'm not ready to face."

A deep sadness washed over Steve as he looked at the miserable woman in front of him. "Listen to me. Simon was one of my best friends and you still are one of my best friends. Hell, you two asked me to be the 'Best Person' at your wedding, so I think I knew him pretty damn well and I definitely know you. Simon loved you very much. He loved the fact that you were fearless; that you embraced life; that you always looked for the next challenge or adventure. Simon would not have wanted you to live the way you have been. He would want you to take the chance, put yourself out there, and see where this goes."

At that, Juliette's tears became deep, soul-wracking sobs. Steve slid to the floor and held her until she had cried herself out. "Thanks, Steve," she sniffled and wiped her eyes. "I know you're right, but I'm scared out of my mind."

"Silly girl," he said as he gave her a squeeze, "that's pretty much how it's supposed to be."

"Great." Juliette rolled her eyes. "Now I've gotta go back up there, hope I don't look like I've been bawling like a crybaby, and try to do my job on no sleep."

Steve grinned. "From what I understand, we'll be arriving at the processor for an offload in about four hours. You go catch a nap and I'll go film in the wheelhouse. I'm guessing that Andy'll be up there since someone was up all night with you."

Juliette blushed again. "I mean it, Steve, nothing happened last night. John and I were just talking."

"I believe you," he replied, "but something's definitely changed. You're calling him John, not Johnathan or Captain Hillstrand."

"Shut up!" she giggled and ran up the stairs in search of somewhere to take a nap.

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A/N: Thanks everyone who has been reading and reviewing. If you want to make me really happy, leave a review!


	7. Chapter 7: Here Goes Nothing

Disclaimer: Still not mine…sigh.

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CHAPTER 7: Here Goes Nothing

After making sure that Juliette was sound asleep, Steve hurried up to the wheelhouse and found Andy Hillstrand waiting for him.

"Man, I'm glad you're up here." Andy grinned at Steve.

"Can't imagine why?" Steve grinned back.

"What'd she have to say for herself?" Andy questioned.

"She said that nothing happened up here last night." Steve replied.

"Hah!" Andy snorted. "According to my brother something almost happened. Apparently I interrupted that 'something'."

"You know, maybe it's for the best that you did." Steve said thoughtfully.

"Why? Don't tell me you want her for yourself." Andy groaned.

"No, nothing like that." Steve said quickly. "It's just that she's scared out of her mind right now. Juliette is definitely interested in Johnathan, but she's still wrestling with some old ghosts."

"Ah, you mean the fiancé who died?" Andy said seriously.

"You know about that?" Steve said, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Yeah, she told Johnathan about him last night. I can definitely see where that would be a hard ghost to let go of. So what you're saying is that I should tell Johnathan to go slow and give her time." Andy said.

Steve let out a low whistle. "Wow, I can't believe she told him about Simon. She'll barely talk about him with me and I knew them both back in our NYU days. I think she really trusts your brother."

"Don't worry, Steve." Andy smiled. "Johnathan won't make her regret that. I've never seen him like this over any woman."

"What do you mean?" Steve questioned.

"He's like a high school kid again." Andy laughed. "It's kind of like the captain of the math team having a crush on the head cheerleader. I think he's actually nervous. That's so unlike him."

At Andy's comparison of Johnathan to a mathlete Steve roared with laughter.

"What the hell is so funny about that?" Andy grumbled.

"Nothing really," Steve laughed, "except that I know that Juliette couldn't stand the jocks and cheerleaders when she was in high school. She always dated what she called 'non-traditional' guys. Hell, she went to film school. That should say it all."

Andy grinned. "Well, Johnathan's about as non-traditional as they come. This could get very interesting."

"I totally agree." Steve grinned back.

Later that night, after the offload was complete and the Time Bandit was headed back out to sea, Steve went in search of Juliette. He found her sound asleep on the floor of the stateroom Mike and Russ shared.

"Hey, sleepyhead." he said as he gently shook her awake.

Juliette groaned and opened her eyes. "Oh man, what time is it? How long have I been asleep? Where's John?"

Steve suppressed a smile at her rapid-fire questions. "It's about 6pm. You've been asleep for about ten hours. Johnathan's in the wheelhouse. He just got up about an hour ago."

"Oh, shit." Juliette muttered under her breath. "I can't believe I slept through the entire offload. Jeff's gonna have my ass for not filming that."

"Relax already." Steve smiled. "I got it all on film. Go take a shower, get some coffee and get your ass up to the wheelhouse and film for a while. It's my turn to nap."

"Alright, alright. I'm going." she yawned and stood up as Steve took the spot on the floor she had just vacated.

Twenty minutes later as she climbed the stairs to the wheelhouse, camera and coffee in hand, her heart was pounding as she realized she was about to face Johnathan for the first time since their almost-kiss the night before and since her epic meltdown to Steve in the engine room. She felt a wave of guilt wash over her. Steve's words floated back to her. 'He loved the fact that you were fearless. He wouldn't have wanted you to live like you have been. He would want you to take the chance.' She drew a deep breath and whispered to herself. "Here goes nothing."

* * *

A/N: Sorry it's taken me so long to update. I kind of got caught up in the turkey-related madness and then by the wonders of the DC marathon on Discovery! Again, thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing!


	8. Chapter 8: Off The Record

Disclaimer: As usual, I own no one and nothing. However, Christmas is coming and I'd really like to find Johnathan under my tree (bow optional)!

A/N: Okay, I know responded to a few of your reviews that I wasn't going to post this chapter until early next week, but I ended up with some unexpected free time to write and I didn't think anyone would object too much!

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Chapter 8 – Off The Record

Juliette slipped into the wheelhouse and stood there silently; watching Johnathan. He looked lost in thought as he steered the Time Bandit back to the fishing grounds from it's offload in St. Paul harbor. She also noted that he looked more awake than he had the previous night and wondered if he was still in the mood to be nice to her, or if their conversation had been a fluke. Something to keep him awake and occupied as he fought the huge waves the night before. Finally, she broke the silence.

"Mind if I join you?" she asked softly.

At the sound of her voice, Johnathan smiled. "Not at all. I was wondering if you were going to come up here tonight."

Juliette laughed. "If you were hoping that Steve was going to be up here pestering you, I'm sorry to tell you that you're stuck with me. He's sleeping."

Johnathan felt his heart skip a beat when she laughed. "Actually, I was kind of hoping it was you."

"I did have to bring my camera with me this time." she said wryly.

"That's okay," he smiled. "I'll behave myself and do the Captain's interview, but only if you promise to stick around for a while afterward."

Juliette grinned, "You have a deal."

They quickly went through the usual questions about the offload, plans for the next fishing trip, the next scheduled delivery date and the season in general in a hurry to be off the record again. When the interview was finished, she turned off the camera and stowed it in an empty cabinet near the co-captain's chair.

"That was different." she smiled.

"What was different?" Johnathan feigned innocence.

"You answered my questions in full sentences instead of hostile grunts and you actually looked at the camera." she said lightly.

"Yeah, well, I was being an asshole before." he smirked. "Besides, I figured the more I cooperated the faster you'd put the damn camera down and I could just talk to you instead of to every Deadliest Catch viewer out there."

"Well John, we're off the record now." she said.

For the next several hours he regaled Juliette with stories of his youth in Homer, Alaska and his exploits with his brothers. When he was done, she found herself laughing so hard that tears were rolling down her face. "It's a miracle that any of you made it to adulthood." she sputtered. "I can't believe that Andy actually shot you by accident when you were kids."

"Believe it." he laughed. "Take a look at this." he beckoned her over as he rolled up the sleeve of his t-shirt.

Tonight, Juliette didn't hesitate and moved to stand by his chair. "Okay, what am I looking at?" she questioned.

He pointed to a spot in the middle of the enormous crab tattoo that covered most of his left upper arm. "That's the scar from when my dumbass brother shot me." he said.

"Wow, and here I thought you just wanted to show off your massive amount of ink." she teased.

"Hey, this sucker took a long time." he grinned.

Juliette reached out timidly and allowed her index finger to gently trace the outline of the tattoo. "It's really well done." she said. "So how many others do you have?"

Johnathan nearly pushed to hard on the throttle when her finger connected with his arm. It felt like a jolt of electricity was running from her into him. "Uh, a few." he managed to sputter. "What about you?"

It was Juliette's turn to smirk. "A couple."

"Well, what and where." he chuckled.

"So we're going to play that game." she grinned wickedly. "I'll show you mine, if you show me yours."

Juliette was stunned by the words that were coming out of her mouth. She realized she was flirting with him and that her usual sense of guilt at doing so had been replaced by a sensation of excitement and anticipation.

He grinned at her. "Ladies, first."

Juliette's eyes sparkled as she said, "Fine. I have three. You can guess as to what they are and where they are."

"Three, really?" Johnathan looked surprised. "I figured you had two. I was thinking a flower on one of your hips and a random design on your lower back. Now I have to guess on a third. Hmmm."

He allowed his eyes to roam over her. She was wearing running pants and a tank top topped off with a hoodie, so no tattoos were visible to him. Juliette felt herself blush under his appraisal and she wanted to look away, but she forced herself to remain perfectly still as he contemplated her and the artwork hidden beneath her clothes.

After a moment, he shrugged. "A dolphin. On your ankle."

"Your turn." she grinned.

"Oh come on, you're not even going to tell me if I'm right or wrong?" he complained.

"Nope. Not until you tell me how many you have and I get to guess." she smiled.

"You're impossible, you know that?" he griped. "I have three and a half. Start guessing."

Juliette allowed herself to give him a long, appraising look just as he had given her. "Well, let's see," she said, "you've got a giant crab on your left arm. I'm pretty sure I see one peeking out of your other sleeve, so I'll go with an animal of some sort on your right arm. The third, probably a full back piece somehow related to this boat. And the half…" she trailed off.

He responded by raising his left hand and indicating the thick mass of scar tissue that surrounded his left ring finger. "This is the half. I've been trying to get rid of the damn thing for years."

"Oh, the ex-girlfriend's name." she said quietly. "I remember reading about that in your book."

"Eh, it's the smallest and stupidest tat I ever got. Fortunately, it's pretty much obliterated." he laughed. "Now, are you going to show me your ink, or what?"

"After you." she teased. "I said I'd show you mine if you showed me yours."

Johnathan looked at her for a moment before slowing the boat to a crawl and using both hands to pull his black Time Bandit t-shirt over his head and tossing it at her. "Damn, woman. You're either really good at guessing what people have tattooed on them, or you've been spying on me in the shower!"

Juliette felt her breath catch as the warm, soft material of his shirt landed in her hands. "I can't believe I was right." she giggled nervously as he turned to display the wildcat and the Harley-Davidson logo on his right arm and the Jolly Roger with the words 'Time Bandit' that covered his upper back. "That is some damn impressive art." she said as she handed him back his shirt knowing almost intuitively what he was going to say next.

"Your turn."

Juliette blushed scarlet at his words as she unzipped her hoodie and allowed it to slide off her shoulders and down her arms revealing a cascade of tattooed flowers flowing over her left shoulder and part way down her arm and her back.

Johnathan had to remind himself to breathe. "Okay, that's one."

She lifted her right foot up and balanced it on the arm of the captain's chair and slid her sock off revealing a foreign character on the top of her foot.

"What's it mean?" he asked

"It's the Japanese symbol for Adventure." she smiled.

Again, he had to remind himself to breathe. "And the last one?"

Juliette replaced her sock, lowered her foot and slowly turned around so her back was to him. Using both hands, she raised the bottom hem of her tank top revealing the words tattooed on her lower back. 'Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as though you'll die tomorrow.'

Johnathan reached out slowly and grazed his fingers along the words. As he did so, he heard her sharp intake of breath. "I think this one's my favorite." he said softly.

"Mine too." Juliette whispered. His fingers felt like they were leaving trails of fire across her lower back. 'This is insane.' she thought. 'John so much as lays a hand on me and it drives me crazy.'

One of his hands went to her hip and slowly turned her to face him. Juliette looked up at him with hazy eyes as he lowered his head and gently brushed his lips across hers.

* * *

A/N: I'm not really sure how many tattoos Johnathan has (but I wouldn't object to doing some personal research on the subject, lol), but I know for sure that he does have a crab on his left arm and some sort of animal with the Harley logo on his right arm (thank you Google image search). Also, he really did tattoo an ex's name on his left ring finger (source: Time Bandit book). Thanks again for all the reviews, they make me happy!


	9. Chapter 9: More Than Okay

Disclaimer: I put them on my Christmas list. Santa said 'no'. No cookies for him this year!

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CHAPTER 9: More Than Okay

Juliette's mind had barely had time to register what was happening before Johnathan's lips touched hers. For the first time in a long time, she felt no guilt about Simon. All she felt was a burning desire for it to happen again!

He pulled back from her a bit and looked at her. When she didn't say anything, he murmured, "Are you okay?" Although he seemed calm, his thoughts were moving at warp-speed, wondering if he had done something he shouldn't have by kissing her.

"Yeah," she whispered, "I'm more than okay." as she pulled his mouth back to hers.

Ten minutes later, Johnathan was convinced that he had died and gone to heaven. Juliette's hoodie was on the floor, one of his hands was tangled in her dark, wavy hair and the other was roaming across her back and shoulders as he continued to kiss her in the middle of his wheelhouse. However, the ever-changing Bering Sea weather brought them both crashing back to reality with a jolt as a massive fifty-foot wall of water washed over the Time Bandit's bow, causing an alarm to go off on the control panel.

Johnathan cursed under his breath as he tore himself away from Juliette and rushed over to his chair in order to throttle the boat into the next on-coming wave. Juliette scooped up her discarded hoodie from the floor, tossed it on the co-captain's chair and grabbed her camera to catch Johnathan in action during the storm that had blown up out of nowhere.

Several hours later, as the Time Bandit emerged from the arctic storm, Juliette found her mind wandering back to their earlier embrace and realizing that for the first time in a long time she wasn't feeling guilty about Simon, but rather giddy with hope that they'd be able to pick up where they had left off very soon.

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A/N: A couple of things: 1) Sorry this chapter is so short, but I realized I hadn't updated in a while and wanted to give everyone a little Christmas treat. 2) I promise I will try really hard to update again before New Year's. 3) As always, reviews are appreciated.


	10. Chapter 10: That's A Crab Tank

Disclaimer: They're still not mine. Since Santa said 'No', perhaps I should start appealing to the Easter Bunny!

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Chapter 10: That's a Crab Tank, Not a Swimming Pool

It had been four days since Johnathan and Juliette's steamy kiss in the wheelhouse and much to both of their dismay; they had not had the opportunity to pick up where they'd left off. The weather had been deplorable, but the fishing had been amazing. Each pot coming over the rail had averaged at least eighty keepers, which meant that the crew was on a forty-eight hour grind as they stuffed the holds to the limit knowing that each pot was one step closer to another offload. Steve had come down with a wicked cold that made every minute he spent on the deck feel like an hour, so Juliette had taken pity on him and let him stay in the wheelhouse with Johnathan while she filmed outside. Just as the final pot of the string cleared the rail, it was followed by a nasty wave that knocked Juliette off her feet. As she attempted to get to her feet, she realized that the force of all the water washing over the deck had deposited the lower half of her body in the starboard aft tank.

"Shit!" she muttered as she tried to drag herself back onto the deck before anyone noticed. She knew that the tradition was that anyone who fell into a tank had to buy everyone aboard a case of beer on the next trip to town and she had no desire to shell out that kind of cash. Unfortunately, Johnathan had noticed from his vantage point in the wheelhouse and took full advantage of the opportunity to tease her.

"Hey, Juliette," he called over the loud hailer, "that's a crab tank, not a swimming pool."

Juliette responded by grinning in the direction of the wheelhouse and making an obscene gesture as Andy and Mike pulled her out of the tank.

"Thanks in advance for the beer!" Mike laughed.

"Bite me, Fourtner!" she giggled.

"Hmm, I don't know if my brother would approve of that!" Andy teased. "You'd better get inside and dry off before you freeze to death."

As Juliette turned to head off deck, Andy shouted after her, "And no pit stops in the wheelhouse either!"

Contrary to Andy's mock command, Juliette did stop in the wheelhouse on her way back outside. As she entered the room, Steve excused himself to get a cup of coffee and another dose of cold medicine leaving Johnathan and Juliette alone together for the first time in four days.

"Hey there," he smiled at her, "you don't look like a drowned rat anymore."

"Yeah, but I'm still half frozen." she said.

Johnathan smirked. "Come here."

She made her way over to the captain's chair and was immediately pulled onto his lap as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Better?" he asked.

"Getting warmer." she murmured.

"You know," he said in a low voice, "you owe the entire crew a case of beer for that fall."

Juliette groaned, "You don't have to remind me, they already did!"

Johnathan's trademark hissing laugh filled her ear. "Did you also know that there's only one way to get out of buying them each a case of beer?"

"Oh really," she breathed, "and what would that be?"

"You let the captain take you out for a drink at the next offload."

As she turned to face him, Juliette heard Steve coming back up the stairs to the wheelhouse. She kissed him gently on the lips and smiled, "As long as you're the captain I'll be drinking with, it's a date!"

As Juliette passed Steve on her way out, he noted the sparkle in her eyes and the dreamy expression on her face and grinned, thrilled to her happy again. He also noted a similar look on Johnathan's face as he re-entered the wheelhouse. "What just happened up here?" he asked?

Johnathan looked at him and grinned, "I can't wait to get to Dutch for the offload. I've got a date with the most amazing woman I've ever met!"

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A/N: Okay, I know it's another short one, but I promised I'd try to get something up for New Year's and since there's only an hour and 45 minutes left of 2009, I figured it was better than nothing! Thanks again for all of your reviews; they really do make me want to keep writing. Have a safe and happy new year!


	11. Chapter 11: Are You Sure?

Disclaimer: I don't own them. (*pouts*)

A/N: The language might get a bit coarser in this chapter. If you're offended by cussing, I apologize in advance, but the term 'swear like a sailor' didn't come from nowhere. Also, this chapter is also going to be a bit more, um, graphic than the previous ones, but seriously, it's nothing you haven't seen on television – consider yourself warned.

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CHAPTER 11: Are You Sure?

***

As the Time Bandit steamed toward Dutch Harbor for an offload, Juliette was frantically digging through the small duffel bag she kept in the corner of Mike Fourtner's stateroom trying to find something she was willing to wear on her 'date' with Johnathan as Steve strolled into the room.

"Do I even want to ask what the hell you're doing?" he asked as a pair of jeans hit him in the face.

"Probably not," she groaned as she looked at the mess around her. "I hate to sound like a typical girl, but I have absolutely nothing to wear."

Steve suppressed a smile as he sat down among the chaos. "Jules, I think he's more interested in you than your wardrobe."

"Yeah, I get that," she snapped, "but I'd like to look a little nicer than 'girl in running pants and a hoodie' or 'girl in jeans and a hoodie'. Does that make any sense?"

Again, Steve had to suppress a smile. He knew she was freaking out over more than just her lack of wardrobe options in the middle of the Bering Sea, but decided the best way to calm her down was to try to solve one problem at a time. "What about that black shirt you had on when you got to Dutch?"

Juliette's face lit up as she jumped up and kissed him on the cheek. "Steve, you are awesome! I forgot that I had that with me, and I actually remembered to hang the damn thing up so it wouldn't be totally destroyed!" She rushed over to the tiny cupboard that served as a closet in Mike's room and located the suggested shirt. "Do you know how long it will be until we get to Dutch Harbor?" she asked.

"Andy said about an hour when I headed down here," Steve answered, "and that was fifteen minutes ago."

"Shit! That means I've gotta get in the shower and get ready now!" Juliette said; pushing past Steve. "Outta my way!"

***

Half an hour later, the Time Bandit was tied up at the processor in Dutch Harbor and Andy had shooed all the guys off the boat to enjoy twenty four hours on dry land.

"You did _what_!?!?!?" Johnathan asked incredulously when Andy told him what he'd done.

"You heard me," Andy said placidly, "I told them I didn't want to see them back on this boat until tomorrow morning."

"Why?" Johnathan asked.

Andy grinned, "I figured you might want to be able to spend some time with Juliette without the entire crew crawling all over the boat. And," he grinned wickedly, "I think that the 'Captain Cam' in the wheelhouse may be experiencing some technical difficulties this evening."

"Do I even want to know what you did to that stupid camera?" Johnathan asked.

Andy pulled a small wire out of his jacket pocket and showed it to his brother. "Like I said, technical difficulties. This is your personal life, and hers. It's not meant for public consumption."

"I don't even know if we'll need the 'alone time'." Johnathan said. "I don't want her to feel like she has to do something she doesn't want to do since everyone's gone. That's not why asked her to go out tonight. Also, who the hell is going to baby-sit those thieving bastards from the processor as they unload our crab?"

Andy smiled at Johnathan's obvious case of nerves. "I've volunteered to oversee the offload. As soon as they're done, I'll either be joining the crew in a bar somewhere or I'll go crash in Neal's old bunk. The wheelhouse and our room are all yours. Also, I wouldn't worry too much about her feeling pressured or anything. She's a big girl. If she's not interested, I doubt she'll have a problem letting you know. Now, go take a shower, trim your messy-ass beard, change your clothes and try to look presentable. You have a date!"

***

Fifteen minutes later, Johnathan returned to the wheelhouse and nearly tripped on the top step as he realized that Juliette was already there; waiting for him. He took a deep breath and swallowed; trying desperately to calm his nerves. "You look great!" he said as he took in the sight of her in a black button-down shirt with the top two buttons open, dark jeans that hugged her body in all the right places and black stiletto boots that added about three inches to her height.

"You don't look too bad yourself." she smiled shyly.

"So what do you say we get out of here and get that drink?" he said.

"That sounds great," she said eagerly, "I think we could both use one right about now."

They both laughed at themselves as he helped her over the rail and onto dry land.

A little while later they were ensconced in a booth in the back corner of the Elbow Room talking and laughing as they sipped their drinks; all traces of nervousness forgotten.

"So, where's the rest of your crew?" she asked. "I didn't see or hear any of them on the boat before we left and I don't see any of them causing mayhem here."

Johnathan paused to light another cigarette and consider how to phrase his answer before saying, "Andy kicked them all off the boat tonight, so that's why they weren't on the boat. And I'm pretty sure he ordered them to stay away from this particular bar tonight, so they're probably all over at the Unisea Sports Bar or in jail by now."

Juliette was a little taken aback by his answer, and blurted out, "And why would your brother have done that? Were you two planning how you were going to score tonight?"

"No! God, no!" he said quickly. "It's just that Andy knows how much of a pain in the ass those guys can be and he wanted to make sure that you and I actually got to spend some time together without them bugging the shit out of us. As far as the boat being empty, the boys also get extremely drunk and sloppy whenever they've been in town for a couple hours and he didn't want you to have to put up with that either. I swear, I didn't ask you to come out with me tonight because I was hoping to get laid. I asked you to come out because I wanted to spend some time with you without being interrupted by storms, alarms, waves or obnoxious brothers."

She flashed Johnathan a grin, "I appreciate your honesty. I didn't think that you would do that to me, but I had to know for sure."

Johnathan reached out to take her hand in his as he looked straight into her eyes, "Juliette, you're smart and beautiful and there's something about you that drives me crazy. I'd be lying if I said I didn't want you, but I wouldn't do that to you. If something more happens between us, I want it to be because we both want it to, not because I expect it to."

Juliette blushed at his admission. "Thanks, John. In case you haven't already figured it out, I kind of suck at this whole 'dating' thing."

"Really?" he grinned, "I think you're pretty good at it."

***

Several hours and a few drinks later, they were both getting sick of the Elbow Room. It had gotten a lot busier and their conversation was constantly getting interrupted by assorted people who knew Johnathan stopping by their table. Finally, after being interrupted for the second time in an hour by Keith Coburn, Johnathan looked at Juliette and asked, "Wanna get outta here?"

"I thought you'd never ask!" she smiled as she stood up.

They walked back to the Time Bandit which had finished offloading and had been moved to a dock closer to the Elbow Room. After helping Juliette over the rail, Johnathan asked, "Do you want to join me for a cup of coffee in the wheelhouse? I'm not ready for tonight to end yet!"

"That sounds great," she said as they headed inside.

***

Twenty minutes later, two untouched cups of coffee were cooling on the console as Johnathan and Juliette made out furiously in the captain's chair. He heard her gasp sharply as he unbuttoned her shirt and slid it off her shoulders. Johnathan froze for a moment, thinking that she was about to put the brakes on the whole situation, but was elated when she reached down and tugged his shirt over his head. He took her action as permission to carry on and began to gently explore every curve of her upper body with his hands and his mouth.

Juliette was convinced that she was about to spontaneously combust. His hands left blazing trails of fire on her skin wherever he touched her. It had been a long time since anyone had had this effect on her. She didn't want to stop, but she wasn't entirely sure that she was ready to go where things were headed.

Johnathan was thoroughly enjoying their steamy make-out session, but he wanted more. Praying that she wouldn't object, he reached behind her and slowly undid the clasp of her bra. As he started to peel the lacy garment away from her body, he felt her shudder and tore himself away from her mouth for a moment to ask, "Is this okay?"

Her only response was to nod as she pulled his mouth back to hers.

A little while later, Johnathan was going insane from desire. He wanted her. He was pretty sure she wanted him. There was only one way to find out. Johnathan slowly stood up and she responded by wrapping her legs around him as he carried her down the stairs to his stateroom.

Juliette's mind was frantic as Johnathan gently laid her down on his bed. She knew she either had to either put an end to the evening or spend the night with him and risk falling for him completely. It was decision time.

As Johnathan trailed his fingers along the waistband of her jeans, he looked into her eyes and murmured, "Juliette, are you sure this is what you want?"

She looked up at the man hovering above her and somehow all of her doubts and fears fell away. Only one thought remained, 'Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as though you'll die tomorrow.' Juliette had made her decision. "I'm sure," she whispered as she reached for his belt buckle. "I want you, John."

* * *

A/N: If anyone thinks I need to change the rating on this story to M due to the content of this chapter, please let me know. Also, I need to come up with a name for Scott Hillstrand's girlfriend in a future chapter. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to PM it to me (I will give you credit if I use your suggestion.).


	12. Chapter 12: Nice Shirt, Juliette

Disclaimer: See the last eleven chapters.

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CHAPTER 12: Nice Shirt, Juliette

The next morning, Juliette awoke to the sound footsteps overhead. She sat up, and looked around and realized exactly where she was. Johnathan Hillstrand's bed. She looked over at the man sleeping next to her and the previous night came flooding back to her and she gasped softly. The sound was enough to wake Johnathan.

"Mornin', beautiful," he smiled at her as he reached up to touch her face.

"Good morning," she replied absently, clutching the sheets a little closer to her body.

Johnathan sighed heavily. From the way she was acting, he guessed that she was having second thoughts about what had passed between them the previous night. "Having regrets in the cold light of day?" he asked.

"Not at all," she smiled warmly, "the only regret I have is that it sounds like the boys are back on board, so we should probably get up."

Johnathan pulled her back down next to him and muttered "Let 'em wait a while," as he kissed her.

***

An hour later, Juliette and Johnathan emerged from the bedroom and headed for the wheelhouse where they found Andy sitting in the captain's chair with his iPod headphones wedged firmly in his ears. He jumped slightly and spun around when Johnathan clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"I thought you two were never going to get up," Andy grinned as he removed the headphones. "Nice shirt, Juliette. It looks good on you."

Juliette flushed scarlet and Johnathan looked mildly abashed. She was wearing one of Johnathan's Time Bandit shirts as her own had been discarded in the wheelhouse the night before.

Andy grinned at her. "I believe this," he handed her the shirt she'd been wearing the night before, "belongs to you."

"Um, thanks," she stammered as she took the proffered item and turned to leave the wheelhouse. "I could really use a cup of coffee. Is it safe to go down there?" she asked nervously.

"Yeah, I sent all the guys out on deck a while ago, so there's no one down there to make you do the walk of shame," Andy laughed. "Bring Johnathan a cup when you come back. I'm going to head out on deck in a minute."

"Watch it, Andy," Johnathan said sternly.

After Juliette was safely out of earshot, Andy turned to his brother and started cracking up.

"What's so funny?" Johnathan asked.

"You two," he laughed, "are like two kids who just got busted sneaking in after the prom or something."

Johnathan smiled in spite of himself. "Yeah, I suppose we are. Sorry we weren't up earlier. How much shit are the guys going to give her?" he asked, a note of concern in his voice.

"Look," Andy replied, "it's no secret that you two left this boat together last night and she was nowhere to be found when they got back. They know. However, I did tell them to lay off of her, so hopefully they'll follow orders."

"Thanks, brother. I appreciate it. I don't care what they say to me, I just don't want them to upset her," he smiled.

"No problem." Andy returned the smile. "She's good for you and I think you're good for her. It's nice to be around happy people."

"I think I'm going to go see about that cup of coffee and possibly some breakfast." Johnathan grinned.

As he started to go in search of Juliette, he thought of something else. "What was with the headphones?" he asked.

"Dude," Andy started laughing again, "do you really think I wanted to hear any sounds that were coming out of our room this morning?"

"You're such an asshole," Johnathan laughed as he turned to head down the stairs.

"Yeah, but you love me anyway," Andy called after him.

***

The next two weeks were idyllic for Johnathan and Juliette. They spent the days in the wheelhouse and the nights in the captain's room. Each was falling for the other hard and fast, although neither of them had said as much. Andy had decided to move into Neal's old bunk for the remainder of the trip in order to 'get some peace and quiet' as he'd put it. The crew had figured out what was going on between them and after a fair amount of harassment, had been very happy for both of them.

One evening, about four days into the trip, Johnathan had noticed that Juliette was staring out the window, obviously lost in thought. "What are you thinking about?" he asked softly.

She turned to look at him. "I was thinking about the fact that this is probably the last trip of the season since you're so close to your quota." She let an unspoken question hang in the air.

Johnathan realized immediately what was bothering her. Their stolen time was running out. "Yeah, it'll probably be about another week or week and a half before we meet the quota. So that gives us a little more time together this season," he said. "Then there's about a six week break before Opilio season begins. Everyone goes home for Thanksgiving and Christmas and then they come back up to Dutch Harbor in early January, so we'll just have find a way to deal with those couple of weeks apart and then we can be together again once the new season starts," he smiled at her.

A single tear trickled down her cheek.

"What's wrong?" he asked, confused. "Please don't tell me that you thought I was going to let you get away from me once King season is over."

"John, have you forgotten, I'm only hear because Tom Miller had to tend to a family emergency this season? He'll be back for Opilio season," she said softly, trying very hard not to start crying in earnest.

"Screw that!" Johnathan exclaimed. "They can find somewhere else to put him. You're the only producer I want on this boat!"

She laughed bitterly. "Did you really think that Jeff Conroy would let me come back on this boat next season? He's already seen some of the raw footage from the cameras around the boat. He knows that I'm incapable of producing an objective story here. Even if Tom wasn't coming back, I'm not going to be allowed back on the Time Bandit. Jeff called the satellite phone this morning and told me that I'm done here. He also said to tell you that if you object to his decision, he'll find another boat to film." She was crying openly now.

Johnathan felt as though he'd been hit by a rogue wave. "That is such bullshit," he snarled as he wrapped his arms around the crying woman. "There's gotta be something that can be done. Just give me some time to come up with something."

"Time is the one thing we're running out of," she said sadly.

* * *

A/N: Thanks again to everyone who has reviewed this story – you're all so kind! Also, I'm still accepting suggestions as to what to name Scott Hillstrand's girlfriend in a future chapter.


	13. Chapter 13: Be Safe Out There

Disclaimer: I'm tired of writing disclaimers. They only serve to remind me that only my overactive imagination belongs to me.

A/N: This is not my favorite chapter, but I rewrote it three times and this was the best I could do. It was either this, or nothing! This chapter is a lot of transition material…the end is near!

* * *

CHAPTER 13: Be Safe Out There

Despite Johnathan's best efforts over the next week, Jeff Conroy refused to reconsider his decision to remove Juliette from the film crew for Opilio season. In fact, after Johnathan and Andy threatened to kick all camera crews off their boat permanently, Jeff had reminded them that they'd already signed a contract to be filmed and that he wouldn't hesitate to sue them to enforce it. Juliette had stopped discussing the matter altogether, claiming that she didn't want their last days together to be consumed by fighting and tension.

Normally, Johnathan celebrated the last pot of the season coming over the rail. This time, however, as the last pot came aboard and he set a course for Dutch Harbor, it was like heading toward a death sentence. And to make it worse, Juliette had her camera trained on him, so he had to make it seem like he wanted to be heading for town.

***

Later that night, as the Time Bandit steamed toward Dutch Harbor, Juliette perched herself in his lap as he stared out over the black water and whispered, "What are you thinking about?"

Johnathan responded by wrapping his arms around her and burying his face in her hair. "I'm thinking about you and me and how I don't want this to end," he murmured.

She smiled and kissed him gently. "We knew it would have to end sometime. I'm not happy that it's ending, but I'm happy that it happened. Hell, from the way this season started out, I should probably just be happy that you didn't turn me into crab bait!"

Her remark made Johnathan laugh. "Yeah, from the way it started, I definitely didn't expect the season to end this way. I thought you were the worst thing that had ever happened to this boat, instead you turned out to be one of the best."

Andy entered the wheelhouse carrying a massive cup of coffee and his iPod. "Alright you two, it's my turn at the wheel. We should be in Dutch by tomorrow morning, and I don't want to see either of you until then," he smiled at them.

Juliette blushed as she muttered, "Goodnight, Andy," and Johnathan tugged her toward his stateroom for the last time.

After they had departed, Andy shook his head sadly, think about how unfair it was that Johnathan had finally met the perfect woman for him and now she was being ripped away.

***

The next morning, as the Time Bandit tied up at the processor, Johnathan and Juliette emerged from his stateroom looking as though they were about to be executed.

"What time's your flight," he asked her over breakfast.

Blissfully, they were alone in the galley as the rest of the crew was busy on deck overseeing the offload and trying to give their captain some more time alone with Juliette.

"In about three hours," she replied sadly.

"Are you headed back to Chicago to see your family, or are you going somewhere else for the holidays?" he questioned.

Juliette sighed deeply. "I'm going to Chicago, against my better judgment, for Thanksgiving and then I'm headed for Kenya. I'll be filming an expedition to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro as my next assignment. I guess Jeff couldn't be satisfied getting me out of Alaska, he felt a need to get me sent to another continent! What about you?"

"I'm going to fly home to Homer for a couple of weeks. I'm having thanksgiving dinner with Neal and his wife. My mom, Scott, my daughter and my grandkids are all flying up for Christmas this year and so are Andy and his family."

"That sounds nice," Juliette smiled. "It sounds like you'll have a great holiday."

"Promise me that you'll keep in touch," Johnathan implored.

"Of course I will," she smiled. "You're not getting rid of me that easily."

***

A few hours later, Johnathan drove Steve and Juliette to the airport. Several other film and boat crew members were there, awaiting the flight to Anchorage that would start their journey home. Johnathan and Andy were catching a flight out the next morning.

"Final boarding call for PenAir Flight 58 to Anchorage." a metallic-sounding voice announced over the loudspeaker.

"That's us, JD," Steve said as he stood up and grabbed his bag.

Reluctantly, Juliette stood as well and turned toward Johnathan. "I guess this is it, then," she said, tears filling her eyes.

Johnathan pulled her into a tight hug and whispered, "I'm telling you, this isn't over. I refuse to believe that I'll never see you again." Then, in full view of all the assembled crab fisherman, he kissed her fiercely before saying, "Call me when you land in Chicago."

***

As soon as she was aboard the tiny plane, Juliette took her seat next to Steve and promptly burst into tears.

"Shhh," Steve tried to soothe her, knowing that there was nothing he could say to make her feel better. "You two can still talk to each other. And who knows, maybe something will happen and you can come back up here."

Juliette was inconsolable for the entire flight to Anchorage. She cried for everything she had that had been cruelly ripped away from her. She tried to take solace in the fact that Johnathan had seemed just as unhappy about the situation as she was, but she knew that he was not a 'relationship kind of guy' and that she'd probably quickly be replaced.

Johnathan stared out the window until the plane carrying Juliette away from him was no more than a tiny speck against the sky.

"Pretty girl, shame she had to leave so soon," came a gravelly voice. "I hear that the execs pretty much forced her out of town as soon as you docked."

Johnathan turned to see his old friend, Phil Harris standing behind him. "Yeah, it sucks," he complained, "she's an amazing woman and I'm sorry to see her go." Not trusting himself to say anything else, Johnathan hurried out of the airport and back to the Time Bandit where promptly drowned his sorrows in a bottle of Crown Royal.

***

Much later that night, Juliette lay alone in her childhood bedroom staring at the ceiling and trying to pull herself together enough to call Johnathan. She knew she'd probably start crying immediately, so she decided to call Steve first, knowing that he'd understand why she was so upset.

Luckily, Steve was still awake when she called. "Oh crap, what did your wonderful family do to you this time," he growled as soon as he heard Juliette's voice.

Juliette took a deep breath. "You're gonna love this. Shall I start with the usual litany of my flaws? I'm an idiot for going to film school. I'm never going to make any money doing this. My tattoos make me look like a cheap whore. I should grow up and settle down. I'm never going to find a man doing what I do. Oh, and I can't keep hiding behind what happened to Simon. Like I said before, the usual."

"Jules," Steve sighed, "I don't know why you keep trying with them. I know they're your family, but they don't support you. They tear you apart every single time you come home. You need to cut ties with them."

"I know," her voice wavered, "and I haven't even gotten to the good part yet."

"You mean there's more?" Steve asked.

"Oh yeah," she grinned at the phone, already feeling better, "my too-perfect brother, the doctor, and his too-perfect wife, the dentist-turned-housewife, are having another rug-rat. Oh, and to top it off, my too-perfect sister, the lawyer, has found a too-perfect guy to marry her."

"Wonderful," Steve muttered. "What's this guy do, is he a superhero or something."

"Worse," she giggled, "he's an accountant."

"Did you get a chance to tell them about you and John?" he asked.

"Hell, no. Do you think they let me get a word in edgewise? Anyway, I can only imagine the shit I'd have to hear when they found out I was involved with a fisherman who's seventeen years older than I am. Then they'd want to meet him, and I wouldn't subject my worst enemy to them, much less someone I love."

Steve was silent for a moment before saying softly, "So, you are in love with him."

The force of the words hit Juliette like a rogue wave. She couldn't believe the word that had slipped unconsciously from her mouth. She was in love with Johnathan. The realization made her a little giddy.

"I think I might," she finally managed to answer.

"Good. Love is good," Steve responded. "At least you've stopped crying."

"Thanks, Steve. I couldn't bring myself to call John when all I was going to do is whine."

"So you called me? Gee, thanks." Steve laughed.

"You know why I called you. You already know what a nightmare they are, so I didn't have to waste time with a ton of back story," she said. "Besides, Simon always said that you were my brother from a much better mother. You're my best friend; it's your job to talk me off a ledge."

"I know, I know," he groaned. "How much longer do you have to spend with 'The Addams Family'?"

"I leave for Kenya the day after Thanksgiving, so I only have two more days here. Any longer and I'm going to be going to the zoo and begging them to feed me to the lions!" she giggled.

"Good," Steve said firmly. "Now call Johnathan, talk to him, and feel better. Oh, and call me before you leave for Africa."

"Thanks, Steve," she grinned into the phone.

"You're welcome. Now go away. I need some sleep. Not all of us got to spend our nights crashed out in the captain's stateroom!" he teased.

"Goodnight, Sleeping Beauty!" she said sarcastically before ending the call and slowly dialing Johnathan's number.

***

"Hi, Beautiful!" his gravelly voice filled her ear and warmed her heart.

"Hi, yourself," she smiled into the phone.

"How's Chicago?" he asked.

"Boring," she replied. "It seems so dull after life on the Time Bandit."

Johnathan's laughed. "Funny, I was just telling Andy how dull the Time Bandit seems without you! When do you leave for Africa?"

"Two days from now," she said.

"Are you going to be able to get calls there," he asked, "or is it like trying to get in touch with someone on a boat in the middle of the Bering Sea?"

"I'm not sure about phone calls," she said, "but they've sworn that I'll have email access at the first couple of camps, then nothing until we get back from the summit, but that should only be about three days. Why?"

"Because," he said, "I already miss you. It'd really suck not to be able to talk to you at all."

Juliette grinned. "You're not getting rid of me that easily!"

"Good!" came his hissing laugh. "Get some sleep and I'll talk to you soon. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, John," she said softly.

***

The next few days flew by and before Juliette knew it, she was standing in the international terminal at O'Hare waiting to board a plane that would take her first to London and then onto Nairobi, Kenya. She guzzled a venti latte and called Johnathan. They had talked every night since she left Alaska and she wanted to hear his voice one more time before setting out on her next great adventure.

"Hi John," she said brightly.

"Juliette," he smiled into the phone, "I was hoping I'd hear from you before you left."

"You really thought I'd leave the country without saying goodbye?" she teased.

"No," he said, "I just wanted to hear your voice. And, I have something to ask you."

"What's that?" she said curiously.

"When do you get back from Kenya?" he queried.

"Not until early January," she sighed.

"Dammit," he cursed, "I was hoping you'd be back before Opilio season. I was thinking we could meet in Seattle or something. I guess I'll have to wait until after the season."

"You and I have a date anywhere you want after you get back from Opies," she said. "I can't wait to see you again."

"Stupid, rotten timing," Johnathan grumbled.

"Hey, look, they're calling my flight. I've gotta go. Don't forget to email me!" she said hurriedly.

"You got it, babe," Johnathan replied. "Oh, and Juliette, one more thing…" he trailed off.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Be safe out there," he said.

"I will be," she said sincerely.


	14. Chapter 14: Love? What? No!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, but I might have to fight IrishCaptain for Johnathan!

A/N: This chapter takes place approximately two weeks after Chapter 13. Also, thanks to Stripes31 for naming Scott's girlfriend for me!

A/N #2: I re-read this chapter and realized I had left out a bunch of dialogue. So here it is…the way it was supposed to be written, not what I originally posted.

* * *

CHAPTER 14: Love? What? No!

"Ugh," Juliette groaned aloud as she crawled into the tent that had served as her home for the last two weeks, "and I thought life on the Bering Sea was rough."

The past two weeks had been difficult in many ways. The expedition guides were exceedingly polite, but insisted on behaving like walking, talking advertisements for their guide company every time she pointed a camera at them instead of acting natural. The climbers were mostly good natured, but very uncomfortable being filmed constantly. One of the women, Ashley, had started screaming at Juliette one morning for filming her before she'd had a chance to brush her hair. Then there was the weather, the bugs and the physical and mental exertion of climbing a mountain and trying to film a documentary at the same time.

At that night's team meeting, she had discovered that the other three camera operators had failed to prove themselves capable of making an attempt at the summit, so Juliette would be left to film the hardest part of the climb herself. And to top it all off, she missed Johnathan like crazy. The best part of her day was crawling into her tent at night and finding an email from him. The emails were nothing special, usually just a quick note asking how things were going in Kenya, a run down of what he'd done that day, and telling her how much he missed her – they made her smile.

Unfortunately, after tonight, she was going to be without email for five or six days as the group made their final push for the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Sighing, she wrote him one last e-mail:

_Dear John:_

_By the time you read this email I'll be on my way to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro. I'm terrified, but excited at the same time. I've always wanted to climb a mountain, so I guess this means I can check one more thing off my list of 'Things to Do Before I Die." The weather's been kind of rotten, but at least there aren't any rogue waves! I'll email you again as soon as I get back to base camp, which should be a couple days before Christmas. I hope you're having fun with Scott, Tae and your grandkids. I can't wait to talk to you again!_

_Love,_

_Juliette_

_P.S. I've attached a couple of photos for your entertainment. No laughing at the one of me being tossed off an elephant's back!_

***

"Johnathan, you need to get out of the house and go do something! You cannot spend all your time staring at the TV, chain-smoking, and waiting for Juliette to email you! Your kids and their kids are here, you could at least try to spend some time with them!" Andy Hillstrand shouted at his brother.

"Oh yeah," Johnathan growled, "watch me."

Andy sighed heavily. He'd never seen Johnathan like this before. He was surly, restless and depressed. "Would you please at least go have a couple of beers with Russell down at the Salty Dog? Just watching you is depressing me! I get that you miss her, but you're going to go bonkers just sitting here! It'll be good for you to get out for a little while."

"Fine," he muttered, "I'll go. It's not like I'll be hearing from her any time soon anyway. They started the climb for the summit this morning, so she's gone for the better part of a week."

Johnathan had grabbed his jacket and stalked out the door.

***

After hanging out with Russell for about an hour, Johnathan was surprised to see Andy wander into the bar with his wife, Sabrina.

"What are you guys doing here?" Johnathan asked.

Sabrina Hillstrand grinned at him. "We thought we'd all come down for a drink."

"All?" Johnathan questioned.

"Scott and his girlfriend, Nicole, are headed this way and Tae said she'd be along shortly as well," Andy answered.

"Who's watching Sawyer and Tiana?" he asked.

"Mom is. She just got in about twenty minutes ago and said she needed some time to 'bond with her great grandchildren'," Andy smiled.

Two hours later, The Salty Dog had been taken over by the Hillstrand family. Everyone was drinking, laughing and having a fantastic time. It had been a long time since everyone had been together in one place.

Andy's wife noticed that Johnathan was perched on a barstool off to one side, watching the festivities and looking a little sad.

"What's biting your ass?" she asked as she slid onto the barstool next to him.

"Nothing," he muttered.

"Bullshit!" she retorted. "I think you're over here brooding about that woman, Juliette, Andy told me about and missing out on a damn good time with your family."

A smile crept across Johnathan's face. His sister in-law was right. "So what? Maybe I am."

"Wanna talk about it?" she asked as she motioned to the bartender to bring him another beer.

"I guess," he answered slowly. "I can't get her out of my head, so I might as well talk about her."

Johnathan related the entire story of how, at first, he hadn't wanted Juliette on the boat and the lengths he had gone to in order to get rid of her. Then he talked about all the nights spent talking in the wheelhouse and their subsequent date that had changed everything between them. Finally, he told Sabrina about Jeff Conroy's decision to remove her from the film crew and how he was afraid that he'd never see her again.

After Johnathan finished speaking, Sabrina burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Andy asked, seating himself next to his wife.

"That's what I'd like to know," Johnathan growled.

Sabrina managed to stop laughing long enough to say, "You're what's so funny, Johnathan! You're completely in love with that girl and you don't even realize it!" She dissolved back into giggles.

"Love? What? No!" Johnathan sputtered.

"I think she's right, brother." Andy grinned. "I think you're in love with Juliette."

Johnathan's head was spinning. Love? That was impossible. He didn't do love. He grabbed his coat and headed back to the hotel where his mother was babysitting his grandchildren; hoping that she could help him figure out what was wrong with him.

***

Sandra Hillstrand took one look at her eldest son and said, "Something's bothering you, so why don't you tell me what it is already. If I'm not mistaken, it's got something to do with that woman your brother mentioned."

"The thing that I don't understand is that I barely knew her," he started. "I mean, yeah, we were on the Time Bandit together for King season, but it's not like I've really spent tons of time with her or anything, but there's something special about her. Juliette's smart, she's beautiful, she's absolutely fearless and I can't think of anything about her I don't like. She's all I think about. I miss her. I can't wait to see her again. I just hope she actually wants to see me. Andy and Sabrina seem to think that I'm in love with her. I don't know what this is, but it's insane!"

By the time Johnathan had finished spilling his guts to his mother, darkness had fallen and his grandchildren had long since fallen asleep on the couch; one curled up on either side of him.

His mother smiled at him and said, "Oh yeah, you're in love alright."

"What? How do you know that?" he said in a low voice, trying not to disturb the sleeping children.

"Simple," Sandra said, "you were more interested in telling me how smart she is than you were in telling me how hot she is. You've never said that about anyone. Besides, you should see your face when you talk about her. If you're not in love, then I don't know what else it could possibly be."

Johnathan was silent for a few minutes, trying to absorb the shock of realizing that for the first time in his life, he was actually in love! "Wow," he whispered, "I'm in love with Juliette."


	15. Chapter 15: Maybe If You're Lucky

Disclaimer: Still don't own 'em!

A/N: Another annoying transition chapter. Sorry!

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CHAPTER 15: Maybe If You're Lucky…

The next morning, Johnathan awoke to the sound of someone pounding on his front door. When he opened it, Scott, Nicole, Tae and his grandchildren trooped inside; shaking snow everywhere.

"Do I even want to ask what you're all doing here at this ungodly hour of the morning?" he asked as he side-stepped the puddles forming around everyone's feet.

"We want to build a snowman, Grandpa!" Sawyer announced excitedly.

His daughter, Tae, smiled ruefully. They were both up at six this morning begging to build a snowman with you. We tried to distract them for as long as possible, but unfortunately both Sawyer and Tiana were on the verge of a meltdown, so we had to come wake you up!"

Scott laughed as Tae's daughter, Tiana, tried unsuccessfully to tug Johnathan toward the door. "Give him a minute, guys, he just woke up! He's usually a grouch in the morning at sea, so I can't imagine he's much different on land. Then again, last season he seemed to be in an awfully good mood in the morning!"

***

Once the snowman was finished, Tiana insisted that the snowman shouldn't have to be outside all by himself.

"He'll be lonely!" she wailed.

"Well," Johnathan smiled down at his tiny granddaughter, "should we build him a friend?"

"Yeah," she answered, "but this time let's make a snow lady!"

When they were finished with the second snowman, all six of them stood back admiring their work.

"What are their names?" Scott asked his son and his niece.

Tiana pointed at the snowman and said, "I wanna name him John; just like Grandpa!"

"Okay, John it is," Scott said, "now what about the snow lady? What's her name going to be?"

Sawyer contemplated the snow lady for a moment before proclaiming, "That's Juliette!"

Johnathan and Scott exchanged shocked looks. "Where'd you hear that name, buddy?" Scott asked his son.

"I heard Grandpa say it to Great-Grandma a bunch of times last night before I went to sleep. I think it's pretty! Can we name the snow lady that? She can be his girlfriend!" Sawyer said.

Johnathan smirked. "Yeah, kiddo, we can name the snow lady Juliette. I think it's a great name."

***

Later that afternoon, the children were napping and Scott and Tae were sitting at the hotel bar, catching up and killing time.

"So, what's up with Dad and this woman?" Tae asked, taking a sip of her drink.

"Honestly, I'm not entirely sure," Scott said. "The production company put her on the boat as a replacement-producer, and at first, I thought Dad was going to throw her overboard! He hated her!"

"Why? Was she a real bitch or something?" Tae asked.

"No, not at all," he smiled. "From what Uncle Andy said, she pretty much told Dad off in the lobby at the Grand Aleutian for calling her a crybaby. She kicked everyone's ass during the survival suit drill. And," he paused for a moment, "when Dad dumped a ton of flour on her as a prank she didn't cry, she got even."

"What'd she do?" Tae asked.

"She stuffed a bunch of ground up bait in his pillow." Scott grinned.

"Sounds kind of bitchy to me," Tae smiled at her half-brother, "but he started it! Tell me more about her."

"She's a lot younger than Dad, that's for sure. I think she's probably only two or three years older than me, but then again, Dad has always been into younger women. She went to school at NYU with the other cameraman, Steve. I think he's like her best friend or something. She's been all over the world for her job, and she's really funny. I think she's the kind of woman that can actually keep up with Dad. He dishes it out and she gives it right back to him. I think Juliette's just as wild and crazy as he is," Scott said. Then he turned serious. "I think she actually understands Dad," he said, "She knows exactly what he is and she doesn't seem like the type to try to change him. If you met her, you'd know what I mean."

Tae lit another cigarette and smiled, "I think I'd like to meet the woman that has reduced Johnathan Hillstrand into a pile of mush!"

***

Over the next few days, Andy noticed that Johnathan was just going through the motions as everyone prepared for Christmas. "Seriously, man, you need to cheer up. She'll probably email you as soon as she gets down from that mountain, so you might as well try to enjoy yourself," he said.

Johnathan looked at his brother and sighed, "She got back yesterday. Christmas Eve is tomorrow and I just wish she was here. I keep hearing that stupid song on the radio about 'all I want for Christmas is you' and I totally get it. Christmas is all about being with the people that you love, and while I'm really grateful that the whole family is together this year, I still just want her!"

"Well," he grinned, "maybe if you're lucky Santa will put her under the tree for you!"

Johnathan smiled in spite of himself and threw a stray couch pillow at Andy. "I wish!"

As Andy left Johnathan's house, a crazy idea popped into his head and he raced back to the hotel to see if anyone else in the family was interested in helping him make it happen.

***

Andy had assembled his mother, his wife and Johnathan's kids in his hotel room and was outlining his plan for them. "So you see, we should try to get her to call him on Christmas Eve or something. Maybe it will cheer him up a little. Besides, he said all he wants for Christmas is Juliette, so let's get him what he wants!" he finished and looked expectantly at the little group.

His wife, Sabrina, was the first to speak. "Andy, that's all well and good, but what about trying something even crazier?"

"Like what?" he asked.

"What if we see if she can make it her for Christmas. You said she was off the mountain, so if everything worked out just right, there might be a small chance we could get her here in time!"

"Wow," Tae interjected, "I think that sounds great! We can't let him know though. It has to be a huge surprise!"

"I can't think of a better idea," Sandra Hillstrand chimed in. "We should at least try."

Half an hour later, with a great plan in place, the group dispersed.

Scott and Tae got Johnathan out of his house for a while, so Andy and Sabrina could search his email and figure out how to contact Juliette. They located her emergency contact number without much difficulty.

"You should call her," Sabrina smiled. "At least she'll know who you are!"

"Okay," Andy took a deep breathe and dialed, "here goes nothing."

***

"Hey, JD, you've got a call on the satellite phone!" one of the camera men shouted to her.

Juliette quickly finished her wrap-up interview with Ashley, and took the proffered phone wondering who on earth was calling her and hoping that nothing bad had happened.

"Hello?" she said.

"Juliette? It's Andy Hillstrand!" said the voice on the other end of the phone.

"Andy! Hi!" she said. "What's going on? Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, everything's fine except that John's miserable with out you. He's kind of turning into a whiny cry-baby and a few of us thought we'd see if there's any way we could get you to Homer in time for Christmas!" Andy said.

Juliette felt a rush of emotions; confusion was followed by elation and then determination. She'd been missing Johnathan and was more than a little depressed at the thought of spending Christmas alone in hiking camp.

"Um, are you sure that that's a good idea? What if he doesn't want me there? I don't want to intrude on a family celebration or anything," she said quickly.

"I talked to our mom and his kids. Everyone wants you here, most of all John. We really want to surprise him and we're pretty sure that the only thing he wants for Christmas is to see you," Andy replied.

Juliette was pretty much done filming and as far as she was concerned, the cameramen who hadn't been able to make the summit climb could finish up the rest of the interviews and background filming. Hell, if Jeff Conroy had a problem with her sudden decision, he could shove it. There were other jobs out there. She was going to see Johnathan again!

"I'm not sure I can get there in time, but I'll sure as hell try," she grinned. "Give me your cell number and I'll call you when I know if I can make it or not!"

After her call with Andy, Juliette made a couple of quick calls and found herself with a ticket on the last bus from the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro back to Nairobi. She quickly filled the other cameramen in on what was happening, shoved some clothes in her duffle bag and ran to meet the bus that would take her one step closer to seeing the man she had unintentionally fallen in love with.


	16. Chapter 16: Time Bandit

Disclaimer: I own nothing, but it sounds like another contender (isisthewolf) is ready to fight me and IrishCaptain for Johnathan!

* * *

CHAPTER 16: Time Bandit

Juliette was exhausted. She had caught a flight out of Nairobi to Amsterdam, and another from Amsterdam to Seattle. In all, she'd been flying for over twenty four hours in a crazy attempt to make it to Homer, Alaska by Christmas Eve. She glanced at the clock as she dragged herself off the plane in Seattle. 12:20pm on December 24th. 'At least the time changes work in my favor,' she thought to herself and smiled. 'It's kind of like traveling backward in time since it's already Christmas Day in Kenya'

As long as her plane left Seattle on time, and her flight from Anchorage to Kenai didn't get cancelled, she'd be on the ground with less than two hours to go by road to Homer. She powered up her cell phone and quickly dialed Andy Hillstrand's number grateful that he picked up on the second ring.

"Hi, Andy!" she said brightly. "I'm in Seattle, my plane to Anchorage leaves in an hour and then from there I'm flying to Kenai. Is there any way someone can come pick me up from the airport there?"

Andy grinned broadly, "You got it! What time does your plane land?"

"7:30pm, barring any unforeseen delays," Juliette replied.

"I'll be there," he confirmed.

Juliette paused before asking, "Are you sure this is a good idea, Andy? I don't want to piss him off, especially on Christmas, if he doesn't want me there."

Andy had to suppress an overwhelming desire to laugh. "Trust me, Juliette, he wants to see you. Now, go get your ass on that plane and get here already! I'll see you at 7:30."

***

After Andy hung up, Juliette noticed that she still had on the same clothes she'd been wearing when she left Kenya and she'd be damned if she was going to possibly meet Johnathan's family wearing ripped up jeans and Johnathan's Time Bandit t-shirt that she had confiscated before she left Dutch Harbor. Also, she had no idea how long she'd be in Alaska, and it would be nice to have some options besides her climbing clothes. She had three hours until her next flight. It was just enough time, she estimated, to get downtown and do some serious damage to her credit card.

As she was rushing around Seattle, trying to find a few new outfits, her cell phone rang. Glancing down at the caller id, she saw that it was Jeff Conroy.

"Shit," she muttered under her breath, "here comes the ass-kicking," as she answered the call.

"Juliette," Jeff began, "how's the weather in wherever-you-are-that-isn't-Kenya?"

"Save it Jeff!" she snapped as she placed a pile of items in front of a very startled-looking clerk at The Gap. "What do you want?"

Much to Juliette's surprise, Jeff began to laugh. "Relax, JD, I'm not calling to yell at you."

"You're not?" she said, confused, as she passed her credit card to the clerk.

"No, I'm not," he replied. "I'm calling to tell you that I talked to the series creator, Thom Beers, and although, for obvious reasons, we can't put you back on the Time Bandit, we wanted to see if you'd be willing to film the Coast Guard for Opilio season. Apparently the guy they had out there last season annoyed the living crap out of the Coasties and their commander, Tim Rutherford, said that they'd prefer that he didn't return. We figured that since you filmed them before, you were the most sensible option and I know you didn't want to leave at the end of last season…" he trailed off.

Juliette's mouth fell open as she grabbed the bag containing her purchases and hurried outside to catch a cab back to the airport. "Are you serious?" she gasped.

"Absolutely," Jeff said. "Do you need time to think about it?"

"Hell, no! I don't need time to think about it. I'm in. Email me all the details. I've got a plane to catch!" she giggled.

"No problem," Jeff smiled into the phone. "By the way, where are you headed that you left Africa so abruptly?"

Juliette grinned, "Alaska. I'm trying to make it in time to surprise John for Christmas."

Jeff Conroy started laughing, "Good luck! Have a very Merry Christmas, Juliette. And tell the Hillstrands the same for me!" and he hung up.

***

It was snowing lightly as her plane touched down in Kenai. Juliette's stomach was filled with butterflies as she realized that in two hours, as long as someone picked her up, she was going to see Johnathan. As she made her way out of the tiny airport, she saw Andy and a young woman she didn't recognize standing next to a truck.

"Hi," she called as she hurried over to them.

"Hey, Juliette," Andy beamed at her as he gave her a quick hug, "It's great to see you again. I can't believe you really made it!"

"Believe it," she retorted. Then, turning to the young woman she smiled and extended her hand, "I'm Juliette Dean and you are…"

"Tae Hillstrand," the young woman answered as she shook Juliette's hand and smiled warmly. "I hope you don't mind that I tagged along with Uncle Andy, but I really wanted to meet the woman who's crazy enough to fly half way around the world for my dad."

Juliette was taken aback. "Uh, it's really nice to meet you, Tae," she said softly.

Andy piped up, "We'd better get moving. Otherwise we'll be late for the gift-opening and our little plan will be ruined."

The trio climbed into Andy's truck and headed for Homer. As they drove, Tae and Andy filled Juliette in on the rest of the plan. It was a tradition in the Hillstrand family that each person got to open one gift on Christmas Eve and this year, Johnathan was going to get the biggest surprise of all.

"What I don't get," she said, "is how you two are going to explain your absence up until this point."

Tae smirked, and Juliette noted that she looked just like Johnathan when she did. "Easy, I told Dad that I was waiting for one of Tiana's gifts to be shipped up here and that they were holding it at the Kenai airport. Uncle Andy just happened to volunteer to keep me company on the drive."

Juliette quipped, "Well, I see being an evil genius runs in the family!"

All three of them were laughing as they pulled into Johnathan's driveway. "Well, here we are," Andy said as he checked his phone, "and it seems that we're right on time. Everyone's here and they're just about to start opening gifts." He turned to Juliette, I hate to do this to you, but can you wait out in the truck for a few minutes until I text you to come to the door? We need to set up the final part of the surprise!"

Juliette was amazed at how incredible Johnathan's family was and felt a slight pang as she realized that no one in her family would have gone to such lengths to surprise anyone. She grinned at Andy and Tae, "Just don't make me wait too long. It's freakin' cold out here!"

"I promise!" Tae whispered as she squeezed Juliette's hand and hurried into the house.

***

Andy and Tae slipped into Johnathan's living room and joined the chaos that was their family. Andy winked at Scott and Sabrina, letting them know that everything was going according to plan.

"Now that you two are back," Johnathan boomed, "we can get this party started! Who wants to open the first present?"

Twenty minutes later, every member of the family had opened a gift, except for Johnathan when Scott stepped forward holding a small box out to his father.

"What's this?" Johnathan asked.

"Open it!" his mother, Sandra, smiled. "It's from all of us."

Johnathan opened the box and found a small model of the Time Bandit inside. Curious, he turned it over and over in his hands before saying, "Uh, thanks, I guess."

Andy and Sabrina both started cracking up.

"What's so funny?" Johnathan demanded.

"You don't get it, do you, Johnathan?" Andy said as he discretely pushed 'send' on his phone.

"No, not really," he answered.

"We got you the Time Bandit for Christmas," he said.

"I know that much," Johnathan said, still looking confused, "but still don't get it."

The door bell rang and Johnathan didn't move, still confused by the tiny object in his hand.

"I think you should answer the door," Andy said. "Your gift is the real Time Bandit. She literally stole time to be here."

Johnathan was still puzzling over his brother's words as headed to the front door, wondering who the hell would possibly be on the other side so late on Christmas Eve.

* * *

A/N: I think this should wrap up in one (maybe two) more chapter. Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed…they make it all worth writing!


	17. Chapter 17: Am I Dreaming?

Disclaimer: As always, only my over-active imagination and my mad crush on Johnathan Hillstrand belong to me.

A/N: I apologize in advance for the short chapter. I've had an absolutely hellish week and decided to just post what I had done before the hell began. If I tried to write any more right now, no one would be happy…least of all Johnathan and Juliette. I'll update again as soon as the little black rain cloud that's been hovering over me goes away. AS~

* * *

CHAPTER 17: Am I Dreaming?

Standing on Johnathan's front porch, waiting for the door to open, Juliette was terrified. What if Andy and the rest of the Hillstrands were wrong? What if Johnathan didn't want her here? What if she had just been another fling for him?

As the door slowly swung open and she came face to face with Johnathan, she smiled and said, "Merry Christmas, John."

All of her doubts melted away when an enormous grin spread across Johnathan's face as he stepped onto the porch, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her.

Behind him, Johnathan heard the whoops and wolf-whistles coming from his family and he reluctantly tore himself away from Juliette's mouth and stared at her.

"Are you really here, or am I dreaming?" he said softly.

"I'm really here," she smiled. "So, are you going to make me stand outside all night, or can I come in?"

Johnathan laughed as he grabbed her hand and tugged her inside.

***

An hour later, after a quick round of introductions and some polite chit-chat with the rest of the Hillstrand clan, Johnathan and Juliette found themselves alone in his living room, sitting on the couch.

"I hope my family didn't completely freak you out," he said, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her close to him.

"Not at all," she said sleepily as she laid her head on his shoulder. "Actually, I thought they were great. They obviously love you a lot if they were willing to go to such crazy lengths to surprise you for Christmas."

Johnathan chuckled, "Yeah, they're crazy alright, but in all fairness I think I've been driving them crazy for the last month whining about how much I missed you. I think they just wanted me to shut up!"

"So, you really missed me that much, huh?" she smiled.

"You have no idea," he smirked, "but if you're not too tired from your trip, I'd be more than happy to show you just how much I've missed you!"


	18. Chapter 18: Is That What You Really Want

Disclaimer: Are you really going to make me say it for the 18th time?

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CHAPTER 18: Are You Sure That's What You Want?

The next morning, Johnathan awoke to an empty bed and quickly extracted himself from the tangled sheets and went in search of Juliette. As he entered the living room, the sight of her took his breath away. The morning sun poured over her, clad in nothing but one of his shirts, as she looked out the front window at the snow covered front yard.

"Merry Christmas, Beautiful," he said softly.

"Merry Christmas, John," she smiled, crossing the room to wrap her arms around him.

"What're you doing up so early," he asked, "and what did you find so amusing in the front yard?"

"Stupid jet lag," she muttered. "It always takes me a day or two to readjust, so my sleep schedule is a little off right now. I hope I didn't wake you."

Johnathan smirked, "No, you didn't wake me, but you're welcome to any time! Now seriously, what were you staring at outside?"

"I was wondering who your frosty little friends were," she yawned.

Johnathan looked confused for a moment before he realized that she was talking about the snow people. "Oh, them," he said, smiling and leading her back to the window and wrapping his arms around her, "Sawyer and Tiana were here yesterday and we built the snowman and then Tiana insisted that he'd be lonely without a friend, so we built him a girlfriend. The kids named them and everything."

"Oh really," she giggled, trying to picture Johnathan building snowmen instead pelting people with snowballs, "what're their names?"

"Well," he said slowly, "Tiana named the snowman John and Sawyer decided that his girlfriend's name was Juliette."

"What," she gasped, startled to hear her own name, "how'd he come up with that?"

"Apparently he overheard me telling my mother about you the other night and he decided that he liked the name, and…" he trailed off.

"And, what?" Juliette said nervously.

He took a deep breath, hoping he wasn't asking her for more than she was willing to give at that point. "And," he continued, "I hope he was right – that Juliette is John's girlfriend."

Her heart soared with joy and then plummeted through the floor. She knew, from all their conversations in the wheelhouse that he tended to avoid serious relationships like the plague due to his line of work and his own womanizing track record. Knowing all that, she had fallen for him anyway. She assumed that whatever had existed between them had been over for him the minute she left Dutch Harbor, and had been elated to find out that maybe they weren't completely finished, but she didn't want him to do something he didn't want to do. She didn't want him to feel like he had to be someone other than himself because that's what he thought she wanted. Juliette stared at him for a long moment before saying, "Are you sure that's what you want? I mean, I know you're not really big on relationships and everything that goes with them."

Johnathan was taken aback by her response. It was definitely not the response that he had expected, but after considering what she had said, he understood why she'd said it and it made him even more aware of the many reasons he wanted her as his girlfriend. Drawing her closer to him, he drew in a deep breath and said, "Juliette, I've never been more sure of anything in my entire life. Like I told you back in Dutch Harbor, there's something about you that drives me crazy. My past relationships didn't work out because they didn't understand me, my job, and my life. You do understand those things and you haven't run the other way or tried to get me to change. I want you in my life and I hope you want me in yours."

Juliette raised her head to look at him and he could see the tears brimming in her emerald-green eyes. "Do you really think I would have flown half way around the world to be with you if I didn't want you in my life?" she said whispered.

"So," he said hesitantly, "does that mean that Sawyer was right?"

She smiled softly as she leaned up to kiss him, "Yes, Sawyer was right. Juliette is John's girlfriend."

An enormous grin spread across his face as he scooped her into his arms and carried her back to his bedroom.

***

Later that night, Juliette and Johnathan returned to his house after spending most of the day with his family.

"Wow," she exhaled as she flopped down onto the couch, "that was fun. I'm exhausted, but it was fun. Your family's a riot!"

Johnathan sank onto the couch next to her and kissed her. "Good. I'm glad. They think you're fantastic, by the way."

"Oh really," she said, a bit surprised, "and how do you presume to know that?"

He smirked at her, "Well, while you were helping Tiana put on her new fairy costume, my mother, my daughter and my sister-in-law dragged me into the kitchen and pretty much ordered me not fuck this up because they adore you!"

Juliette laughed. "So far you're in no danger of that!"

He laughed with her and then quickly sobered. "They also asked me another question. One I'm almost afraid to ask you."

"What is it?" she asked, looking concerned, her heart pounding.

"Well," he began nervously, "it's kind of a two part question. The first part is how long you're going to be staying in Homer. The second is how do you feel about me leaving with Scott and Andy for Opilio season in three weeks?"

Relief washed over Juliette. She had an easy answer and had been waiting for an opportunity to bring it up anyway. "I've got no other immediate plans right now, so I can stay here with you as long as you want me here. And I have to answer the second part of your question with another question! How do you feel about me leaving for Opilio season in three weeks?"

Johnathan looked at her quizzically, "What do you mean? I thought Conroy wasn't letting you back on the film crew, not that I wouldn't love to have you out there with us."

She began, "I can't come back to the Time Bandit, though I can't think of any place else I'd rather be for Opies, but Jeff called me yesterday while I was waiting for my flight out of Seattle and offered me a job filming the Coast Guard. It seems that Tim Rutherford didn't like the guy that was out there for King Crab and wanted someone else out there this season. I already told Jeff I'd do it."

"So you'll be on St. Paul Island for the entire season with the Coasties?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yep," she said, "I hope you don't mind?"

"Are you kidding?" he said excitedly, "Andy just told me that we're exclusively off-loading at the processor in St. Paul this season. I'll actually get to see you a couple of times if you're not out filming a rescue!"

"I thought you'd like that," she grinned as she straddled his lap and began kissing him.

"You have no idea," he murmured, tangling his hands in her hair.

***

Much later, Juliette lay with her head pillowed on Johnathan's chest as they both admired the twinkling white lights of his Christmas tree from their position on the floor. She shivered slightly.

"Cold?" he asked as he reached for a blanket that was hanging off the edge of the couch and draped it over both of them.

"Not anymore," she giggled, snuggling closer to him.

She noticed the slight smirk on his face and asked, "What are you smiling about?"

"I was just thinking," Johnathan replied, as his fingers idly traced the flowers tattooed on her shoulder, "I'm gonna have to make sure those guys at the Coast Guard station know to keep their hands off my girlfriend!"

Juliette laughed, "I'm going to have to make sure that Jeff doesn't decide to assign another woman to the Time Bandit. Apparently my boyfriend has a thing for female members of the film crew!"

"Trust me," he murmured, as he moved to hover over her again, "you have nothing to worry about."

What he wanted to tell her was that for the first time in his entire forty-seven years on the planet he was in love, more specifically that he was in love with her, but he didn't want her to feel like she had to reciprocate the feeling, so he settled for whispering in her ear, "All I want is you."

Johnathan's whispered words made Juliette's heart skip several beats before she gasped, "I'm already yours."

* * *

A/N: Okay, okay, I'm sorry it took me so long to update. Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed to this point (and an extra special shout-out to wildviolet76 for urging me to chuck real life and keep writing). I think there's probably about one more chapter left…and then maybe we can talk sequel!


	19. Chapter 19: That's My Girl

Disclaimer: Last verse…same as the first.

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CHAPTER 19: That's My Girl

The next three weeks flew by for Johnathan and Juliette, and before they knew it, it was time to pack up and return to Dutch Harbor for Opilio season. When they arrived, they were forced, at least temporarily, to go their separate ways.

"So, I'll catch up with you later, at the Elbow Room," Johnathan grinned at her.

"Yeah, I'll be there as soon as I'm done helping them rig the cameras on the Coast Guard chopper," Juliette replied as she pecked him on the cheek and hurried off in the direction of the waiting Coast Guard chopper.

Grumbling under his breath about Juliette not being aboard the Time Bandit for Opies, Johnathan headed toward the Captain's Meeting at the Grand Aleutian. When he arrived at the hotel, he quickly took a seat between his brother, Andy, and Phil Harris.

"So, is she spending the night on the boat, or are you spending the night here with her?" Andy asked jovially.

"Does it really matter?" he shot back.

Laughing, Andy retorted, "Hell, yes, it does! I wanna know if I get to sleep in my own bed tonight or if I gotta crash in the galley since Neal's back this season and I can't exactly go crash in his bunk!"

"Hey, you two," Phil's gravelly voice interjected, "you're worse than Ding and Dong! Arguing before the season even starts!"

"We're not arguing," Johnathan said, trying to look innocent, "Andy's just pissed 'cause if I have it my way, he's getting kicked outta our room tonight!"

"You've been in town for all of three hours, and you're already plannin' on pickin' up a piece of tail at the bar tonight?" Phil grumbled.

Andy and Johnathan both burst out laughing, and Johnathan sputtered, "Nope. My skirt-chasing days are over, buddy. I've finally found a girl worth keeping."

Phil stared at his old friend in disbelief, "Are you saying that you've actually got yourself a girlfriend? Who is she, and does she realize what she's getting herself into?"

Johnathan chuckled, "Remember the pretty girl from the airport at the end of King Season?"

"Yeah," Phil said cautiously.

"That's my girl," Johnathan smiled, "Her name's Juliette."

Phil roared with laughter at the revelation. "Isn't she the same woman you didn't want on your boat? If I remember correctly, you threw a massive tantrum in the lobby of this very hotel over it."

Andy smirked, "Yeah, now he's on the verge of throwing a tantrum to get her back on our boat!"

"Well, well," Phil said thoughtfully, "I hope she's coming out drinking tonight, I wanna meet her!"

***

After the meeting concluded, Johnathan, Phil and Sig hurried out of the hotel for a smoke. The group had just light up when they noticed the Coast Guard chopper lifting off.

"Huh," Sig grunted, "I wonder what they're up to."

"I dunno," Johnathan replied as he exhaled a cloud of smoke, "but I'm guessing Juliette's on board."

Steve had overheard the group and hurried over. "They're doing their survival suit drill," he explained quickly.

"They do it in the air?" Phil said, surprised.

"Yep," Steve answered, handing Johnathan a pair of binoculars, "and I'm guessing that you're going to want to see this."

He took the binoculars from Steve and focused them on the helicopter which was now hovering about thirty feet above the water just outside the harbor. He watched as the chopper door slid open and a man wearing the familiar orange survival suit tossed a life raft into the sea and then jumped from the helicopter and began swimming toward the raft. As soon as the man was safely inside the raft, another survival suit-clad figure, this one much smaller than the first, appeared at the open chopper door. His heart jumped into his throat. It was Juliette. She paused for no more than a second before she leapt out of the helicopter and plummeted to the ocean below.

Johnathan hadn't realized he'd been holding his breath until after he saw her break the surface of the water, swim to the raft and clamber inside.

"Damn," he muttered, "handing the binoculars back to Steve, "she did say it was a hell of a lot harder to jump from a helicopter. I think it might have been harder to watch!"

***

Later that evening, the crab boat captains and crews had taken over the Elbow Room and were engaged in their usual activities of drinking, bragging, betting and story-swapping. Johnathan was sitting with his crew, nursing a Crown Royal and Coke, and brooding that Juliette hadn't come in yet.

Suddenly, a very familiar voice behind him said, "So, can anyone sit with you guys, or is this a 'Time Bandit Only' table?"

Johnathan turned around to see Juliette, along with Steve, standing behind him and grinning.

"Get over here," he mock-growled, pulling her down onto his lap.

"Jeez, I get no love around here," Steve said sarcastically.

The group laughed, and Scott said, "We'll make room for you, Steve, but only after you go grab our next round of drinks!"

As the night wore on, Juliette hung out with Johnathan and his crew as they got progressively rowdier and more profane.

"You see what I meant," Johnathan murmured in her ear, "you let them on dry land for five minutes and the next thing you know, they're out of control."

She laughed, "Yeah, remind me that we both owe Andy for keeping them off the boat the last time we were here!"

"Speaking of the Time Bandit," he smirked, "what do you say we head that way?"

Juliette leaned in and brushed her lips gently across his, "I think that might be the best idea I've heard all day."

As the two of them stood up to leave, Phil called out. "Hey Johnathan, don't you know that a woman on the boat is bad luck!"

Johnathan was just about to deliver a sarcastic response, but Juliette beat him to it, "Haven't you heard, Phil, a naked woman on the boat is good luck!"

The group of fisherman roared with laughter, as Phil turned a slight shade of pink and Johnathan and Juliette slipped out of the Elbow Room.

***

Johnathan and Juliette had barely cleared the rail of the Time Bandit before they were all over each other; tongues battled for control, hands tangled in hair, breaths came in ragged gasps, words were superfluous. They barely made it to Johnathan's stateroom; leaving a trail of clothes behind them.

Later, as held a sleeping Juliette in his arms, Johnathan thought about all the things he wanted to say to her before he left to go fishing, but hadn't had the courage to say. He settled for burying his face in her hair and whispering, "I love you."

***

The next morning, they awoke to the sounds of the crew moving around the boat.

"Morning, Beautiful," Johnathan smiled at her.

"Good morning, John," she yawned sleepily, "we should probably get up. I forgot to tell you last night; the Coast Guard guys wanted me to tell you that they'd be here at 10am sharp to do your inspection and survival suit drill…and to pick me up!"

Johnathan leaned over to kiss her one more time before he rolled out of bed and started rummaging through his bag for something to wear.

"Oh, shit!" Juliette groaned, looking around her.

"What?" Johnathan asked, looking concerned.

"Um," she giggled, "I think you're going to have to go find my clothes before I can leave this room, unless you want your whole crew seeing me naked!"

Johnathan's hissing laugh filled the room, "While I'm sure they'd enjoy that, I'll go see what I can find!"

A few minutes later he reappeared in the bedroom and tossed her clothes at her, "I found everything but your bra!"

He was rewarded with his favorite sound in the world; her laugh.

***

Johnathan and Juliette appeared on the deck to hoots and whistles from the crew and were spared further teasing by the arrival of the Coast Guard inspectors. After the usual inspections and the survival suit drill were complete, it was time for Juliette to head to St. Paul Island with the Coast Guard and for the Time Bandit to leave port.

As they stood at the rail, Johnathan pulled her into his arms and murmured, "I'm going to miss you."

"I'll miss you too, but you'll see me when you come into St. Paul to offload." She drew in a deep breath. "I-I-…" she was interrupted by Andy's voice on the loud hailer.

"Um, Johnathan, we'd like to get going, if you're about done!"

Both Johnathan and Juliette made obscene gestures at the wheelhouse and laughed.

Johnathan planted one last long, hard kiss on her mouth before she whispered, "Be safe out there," and climbed over the rail to stand beside the Coast Guard officers.

As the Time Bandit pulled away from the dock and headed out to sea, Johnathan climbed the stairs to the wheelhouse, wondering what Juliette had been about to say when Andy interrupted them.

"You know," he growled at his brother, "you have the worst timing of any human being on the face of the Earth."

"What do you mean?" Andy asked, looking confused. "Don't tell me I interrupted something between you two again!"

"I wouldn't know. She was about to say something before you opened your big yap, and she looked pretty serious," he snapped.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that," Andy said soberly. "On a lighter note, did you see what our charming crew did?" He pointed to the Time Bandit's flagpole. There, just below the American flag and the Jolly Roger flag was Juliette's red lace bra, fluttering in the breeze.

***

Juliette was silent on the flight from Dutch Harbor to St. Paul Island, thinking about how much her life had changed since the last crab season. She had finally let go of Simon and found love in the last place she'd expected to. She had finally worked up the courage to tell Johnathan that she loved him and Andy had interrupted them before she'd had the chance. Sighing, she promised herself that she wasn't going to let the opportunity escape her again!

* * *

A/N: Okay, that's it. Show's over (until I get around to writing a sequel)! Seriously, I want to thank everyone who has read and reviewed this story. I appreciate it more than you know. (And a special shout out to wildviolet76 & IrishCaptain, who seem to adore Johnathan as much as I do).


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